


Memento

by Lananiuska



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:40:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 77,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22709371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lananiuska/pseuds/Lananiuska
Summary: Not all storms come to disrupt life, and that was something Regina was about to find out after waking up from the missing year, with everything changed and a dilemma weighting down on her.
Relationships: Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Robin Hood
Comments: 158
Kudos: 171
Collections: Outlaw Queen Valentine’s Gift Exchange 2020





	1. Intro

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my Love for OQ gift, and it's written especially for lau_p_g. It was supposed to be a one shot but somehow the whole thing got out of control so here's this, the first three chapters. To Laura: I hope you like it and thanks for being so nice and patient answering all my questions to make this happen.
> 
> Also, thanks to Tiffany and Jess for brainstorming this with me.
> 
> About the story: This takes place right after the missing year and the plot is basically the same but with a little twist. Okay maybe it's not so little as it will change most of what will happen from the moment they land back on Storybrooke on. I don't want to ruin it for you so here's what I can tell: Things happened back at The Enchanted Forest, they just don't exactly know what (the part with their missing memories is the same) but it's there, clear as day. It's kind like the butterfly effect, one small change will change everything so eyes open. Hope you enjoy!

Confusion…

That was exactly what Regina Mills could perceive all around her; the feeling tainting everything, consuming it all, growing with each passing second until it was a heavy burden upon everyone's shoulders.

She could feel it too, even if she didn't let it show. She could feel how dense it was, how it was thick enough to stun you... to choke you as it consumed you whole.

It was an awful thing... to drown in the darkness, and she didn't know if it was the same for everyone else, but to her the inability to understand how she lost a whole year worth of memories (plus the emptiness in her soul after losing Henry), was overwhelming enough to make her feel dizzy and perhaps a little drained.

It was all annoyingly weighing heavy on her, almost as if things transcended from just being an inexplicable mental blockade, to give way to a serious physical problem.

It was not just in her mind and soul now, but it was also in her body… in the lightness of her head and the turmoil in her stomach.

Taking in consideration the energy everyone was putting in arguing, pointing fingers and running around in circles, not many people were taking it as bad as her.

Actually, everyone else seemed too lively and energetic to be feeling as bad as she felt, so she was probably the only one feeling like the whole thing was physically taking a toll on her.

It was no surprise though; she was grieving. She was the only one in that room who was dealing with having everything she cared for taken away. It was just not her memories or a year of her life… no, it was her entire soul that she just lost and she was not taking it well.

It was as if she was drowning in her own sorrow and because of that, she hadn't exactly been taking care of herself.

She wasn't eating as healthily as she should, she wasn't sleeping enough, and yes, all of that was contributing immensely in how off she was feeling in that moment.  
Not only was she confused and brokenhearted, but she was also feeling weak, almost sick.

She missed Henry too much, so she didn't have it in herself to care about much, let alone her own well-being.

"They are going to riot if we don't give them some answers." David hissed somewhere nearby, and if she would be feeling any better, Regina would have groaned in exasperation.

True, she could see that in their desperation to understand what was happening, the people crowding the City Hall were a step away from submitting to chaos, but what did the Charming fool want them to say when they themselves had no idea what was going on?

They had the same questions Storybrooke's residents had, and just the same amount of answers. None.

"I know. They are scared and confused so we need to give them something to make them ease their minds. What do you think we should do here, Regina?"

For once, the former Queen just sat in silence, her eyes scrunching tight shut and her fingers brushing lightly over her temples. She was suddenly feeling even more queasy than before, and in her intentions of holding onto the need to wretch, Snow's question went right through her.

"Regina?"

Taking in a deep-steady breath in hopes the exercise would help her hold her breakfast inside her stomach instead of letting it go up her throat in front of everybody, her chocolate brown eyes opened slowly.

She felt weak, even shaky, but at least her stomach was holding up.

"Regina?" Snow said again, this time a little louder.

The Queen gave no response though, she just hummed, the cold sweat running down her spine making her feel uncomfortable.

"What's wrong with her?"

"I don't know… she just… Regina, are you listening to me?"

Taking notice that breathing in and then slowly out helped the need to throw up settle down, Regina did it a few more times. It worked, but that she started to feel better didn't take from the fact that she was no less annoyed by the younger woman's insistence.

"Regina-"

"What?" She tried to voice the word with impetus, to make her tone rage. But reality had a way to cheapen things, and instead, the question came out weak and pathetic. She hated it.

Turning completely in Regina's direction, Snow White narrowed her eyes. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine." She hissed almost angrily. She would never let it slip pass her lips that no, that she was not alright. Not only because she missed Henry with every fiber of her being, or because her mind was confused about what was really going on, but also because she felt a step away from fainting

This thing of feeling ill has been happening to her ever since she woke up to a new curse three days ago, with the world spinning all around her and the memory of having to give up on the thing she loved the most, her son, falling heavy on her heart; but as of yet she hasn't gotten used to it.

"You don't look fine-" Before her stepdaughter could go on, someone from the crowd called for everyone's attention and in a matter of seconds, all eyes were on the man as he pointed an accusatory finger directly at her.

"You all want to know what I think? I Think this mess is all in the Queen's hands. I mean, it's not like she has never done this before, so why aren't we questioning her?"

"Leroy, we talked about this. Regina is as lost as we all are here." Snow was the one to respond, a forced smile in her face and her sickeningly sweet voice carrying the repeated message through the crowd.

"So she says, but she could very well be lying. Or what, are going to believe everything The Evil Queen says now?"

More than a few voices agreed with the dwarf, so resuming the ruckus, everyone went back to talking at once.

Snarling her lips, Regina shook her head, her eyes scanning all around. It was as she did it that she saw them all for what they were: a tempestuous sea of detractors judging her, with their snarling faces trying to blame what was happening to her.

They knew nothing. The bunch of idiots didn't even understand how a curse was casted, or else they would know that without Henry, she had nothing else to sacrifice in order to create or even cast a new one.

She may not remember what happened during the missing year, but she was sure it hadn't been her the one who made them go back to Storybrooke.

Not like she was going to explain it all over again. To hell with what they believed. They didn't matter, none of them did and that she was sitting there while they kept accusing her was something she didn't need to do.

She had enough on her plate as it was to keep adding to her burden, so she was going to go.

"How do we even know it's a curse? What if she froze us in time or put us all in a sleeping spell we just woke up from?"

Unable to stop herself from reacting to such a ridiculous question, Regina spoke up and she was glad her voice came out strong and steady to answer it.

"If I ever put you in a sleeping curse, dwarf, it would have been an eternal one. Would save me from listening to all that nonsense you're spewing from your snout."

Guffawing, Grumpy's face lit up as if he just solved the big mystery. "So you are agreeing with this. You are saying you wouldn't hesitate in putting us all under a sleeping curse? See, did everyone hear her confess to this?"

Gathering all her strength, Regina stood from the chair. She did it slowly, apparently with all the grace and poise of someone of her lineage. But the truth was she did it that way to prevent herself from falling face first into the crowd.

It could have happened, because yeah, her will not to embarrass herself was strong, but her legs felt as if they were made out of rubber and her head was spinning. 

Cursing under her breath, the dark-haired woman wondered if it was her blood sugar that came down. It could be, as she just nibbled on a piece of toast that morning and nothing else.

It was a little past noon now, so yeah… this was definitely her sugar. Still, even though she felt way off, she stood her ground and stared daggers at the dwarf.

"If this was a sleeping curse, people would have only woken up when the curse was broken and our memories would have returned. So try again, Frodo. As for being frozen in time-" She stopped her words there, scoffing humorlessly as she pointed at Mary Margaret's pregnant form. "Have you seen Snow White? Does it look like she was frozen?"

The small man's face contorted in all forms, his eyes returning her heated glance. "Fine, maybe it wasn't a sleeping curse! But that doesn't mean I trust you. I know you're up to something so I'll be watching until I find out what it is, sister."

"Do whatever you want to do, that's your problem, not mine."

With that said, the woman known as Regina Mills and yes, sometimes as The Evil Queen, lifted her chin up and walked away, forcing one foot in front of the other. The clicking sound of her heels against the marble floor getting swallowed by the tumult of voices she was leaving behind.

She simply had enough of everyone back there talking about things they did not know so her goal was going home, het something to eat, lay down, and then wallow in her grief. Let The Charmings deal with their people.

Unfortunately, that plan was far from happening, as she was so dizzy that she could feel her entire being trembling. She even stumbled on her own two feet, that's when she knew she probably wasn't going to make it into her house as easily as she would have liked.

"Come on, just make it outside." She hissed to herself once she was by the hallway that led to the exit door.

The pleading was in vain, because she was suddenly feeling so much worse than before. Her entire world was spinning in front of her eyes and her vision getting blurry.

"Are you alright?"

At the sound of the strange voice approaching her, Regina tried to will herself to keep walking, to not crumble in a heap down the floor.

But as much as she tried to keep going and hold onto it, she felt it coming… her legs failed her and she knew she was going down.

She even brazed herself for the impact, brows furrowing and jaw clenching; but then, before her legs completely gave up, she was grabbed firmly, two strong hands holding her by the elbows.

"Milady…"

Feeling like she needed to yank her arms away and snap at whoever dared putting his hands on her, Regina lifted her face up. Her intention was to snarl her lips and ask to be left alone.

She was unable to utter a word though, because with the muffled sound of Snow White calling her name and a pair of deep blue eyes digging into her own stare, her entire weight crumbled against the solid frame holding her up and she finally passed out...

Everything that happened after that was a fuss, a mumble of images and strange interactions that created even more confusion in her.

It wasn't until much later that she got to feel more like herself. Yes, she was still lacking her usual strength, but at least the lightness in her head was completely gone.

Her limbs also stopped trembling and she no longer felt like throwing up. She guessed all that was because by then she had been treated in a hospital, an IV inserted in her arm and her stomach filled with warm soup.

That helped… sure, but now her mood was so sour that she couldn't even stand herself.

What could she say? She just couldn't believe that she agreed to Snow taking her to a damn hospital when all she needed was to go home. She also couldn't believe the woman was still sitting by her side, her big doe eyes trying to search for hers as she lectured her about all the reasons why she needed to take better care of herself.

It all came down to the: :Henry would hate seeing you in a hospital, or Henry would have wanted you to try and solve the missing year mystery thing', she was tired of hearing it.

"Do we really need to do this now?" She asked, her eyes still focused on the panorama displaying outside the window.

"Talk? Well yes, Regina. Because for the last three days you've been doing nothing other than evading everyone and locking yourself in your house, and look at how that ended. You fainted-"

"I'm fine." She snapped, cringing internally at the way she indeed fainted like some freaking amateur.

She could have magically transported, she could have made it into her office on her own but no… she just fainted like a damsel in distress, and to make it even worse, in the arms of a stranger.

It was simply mortifying, and even though her interaction with the stranger has been short, she was still a little shaken by it…

"You are not fine and it's okay not to be. You miss Henry, I get it-"

Going back to the problem at hand instead of thinking of those blue eyes and their imprudent owner, Regina scoffed. "No, you don't get it." In fact no one did. No one understood the emptiness she felt at each hour of the day knowing she was never going to see her son again.

It was eating her inside out, her grief… the pain, and nothing was ever going to make it better. Not while her heart still beat inside her chest.

Humming way too loudly for Regina's rotten mood, Snow leaned forward, probably trying to catch her stepmother's attention. "I do know. I lost Emma too."

Allowing a dry chuckle escape her, Regina's lip curled as she pointed to Mary Margaret's obvious pregnancy. "And look how quickly you found a replacement child, so no, don't tell me it's the same."

At her words, Snow's posture straightened up and Regina could just imagine her pretty face falling. Yes, it was a low blow, but she couldn't find it in herself to feel sorry.   
Sure, Snow lost Emma, but she had David and this new baby, while she had no one. So no… she couldn't sit there and tell Regina it was the same.

"That's not fair and you know it, Regina."

"Fair-" She repeated the word, letting her tongue savor it. "Nothing in this life is fair." At least not for her.

"Henry wouldn't like you thinking like that. He would have-"

"That's enough!" Feeling her temper flaring, Regina shout out, interrupting Snow White before she could even finish her sentence. "Henry is not here. So whatever he may want or not is not important because he's not here and I don't need you to remind me of that every single minute of the day."

Much to her credit, Snow White looked abashed and Regina almost, almost felt sorry for snapping like that. But because she didn't want to let the feeling of regret sweep through her on top of all the other things she already felt, she reached for the IV and yanked it out of her.

It hurt. Enough to make her eyes water and her jaw clench, but it also grounded her, especially with the feeling of her hand on fire.

"Regina-" Snow began to say all teary eyed, but not wanting to listen, the former Queen started to get up to her feet. Her intention? Leaving the hospital for good.

"See? This is exactly why I would rather stay home. So that I don't have to deal with any of you."

Before Snow White could formulate a response to that, the door to the hospital room busted open and inside came Dr. Whale, a clipboard in hand as he eyed from one woman to the other.

"Regina… Mary Margaret."

"Victor." Snow said as she averted her eyes and tried to act as if the man being there wasn't awkward, then she started to inspect her nails.

"I'm leaving." Regina announced with a roll of her eyes. By the way the man contemptuously looked at her bleeding hand, she guessed he already knew.

"Alright. There's no need to keep you here much longer anyway. Although I would have that checked if I were you."

"It's fine." Lifting her hand, she hissed, even if she internally thought it was too much blood now.

Damn it, she should have taken the IV a little more carefully… because the paper towel Mary Margaret handed over was apparently not enough to stop the flow of blood.

Arching an eyebrow, Dr. Whale sighed. He knew better than to argue with her, so he went on. "I have your results."

"Is everything alright with her?" Snow nosed in and once again, Regina rolled her eyes.

"Of course I'm fine. I just… I may have skipped a meal or two so my blood sugar was a little low."

"Well, your glucose was a little low, thing that you should definitely monitor now as a matter of fact. But that was not all we found."

Slipping on her shoes and pressing hard over her injured hand, Regina arched an eyebrow, her lips twisting a little in wonder. "What do you mean it was not all?"

Whale cleared his throat, eyeing the papers in the clipboard once again. "Well… um, it seems, according to your lab results, that you are pregnant."

Regina guffawed, she literally did, the sound contrasting immensely with her dark mood. It was definitely not a sound fit for a Queen and as it escaped her, her eyes narrowed.

"Pregnant?"

She heard Snow choke somewhere in the background as her question bounced all around them, but she paid her little to no attention at all.

"You're kidding, right?"

Clicking his tongue to the roof of his mouth, Dr. Whale shook his head. Once again, she guffawed.

Sure, it was not funny, whatever joke the man wanted to play on her, but the absurdity of it all made her react like that.

"I don't know what you are trying to do here but it's not funny, so cut it."

"I am not trying to be funny. I'm just letting you know the results of your blood test. You are expecting a child and this is no joke of mine. You're pregnant, Regina."

"You are having a baby?" Snow almost squealed and when Regina leered at her, she saw the woman almost jumping in excitement.

"Seems like it was a busy year for you two."

Blinking one time and then another, Regina looked back at Whale, her eyes trying to dig into his to see if he was lying because let's face it, he just had to be. But the thing was that she found no trace of deception in him or ill-intentions, and she wasn't sure if that scared her even more or not.

But no… she couldn't be pregnant. She couldn't even have children, and even if she did, she didn't have anyone…

"Want to have a sonogram now that you're here? I can do you both… in fact."

Instead of replying, Regina shut her eyes close and took a couple of steps back because no, no, no… this couldn't be…

"Yes, please. Oh my God Regina."

As she tried to assimilate what she was just told, Snow White jumped in front of her and wrapped an arm around her neck, forcing her into an unwanted embrace.

"I can't believe this." As if remembering herself, the younger woman pushed away and then with a frown in her face, she snorted. "And the father?"

Opening her eyes wider, Regina shook her head. It was all she could do. She was lost, in complete disbelief…

The last memory she had before the curse swallowed them all was seeing Henry off with Emma, so this thing about her being pregnant made no sense at all. First, because she couldn't see herself willingly having sex with anyone in that damn town, especially if she has been grieving, and second… well she was barren. She made sure of that long ago.

"Oh, Regina…"

Apparently seeing the whole picture now, Snow sighed and then, she mumbled something about how everything was going to be fine, that she shouldn't worry because according to all the nonsense she was mumbling, she was going to help her find the supposedly father of her baby, and as she said that, all Regina could do was wonder what the hell happened during the missing year…

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

He knew something was bound to happen the moment he ran into the Queen in the middle of a very much deserted hallway.

Yes, he knew it. He felt it in his gut, in the way his stomach tightened in a knot by her mere presence, and in the manner in which all the muscles of his body tensed the moment he laid eyes on her.

It was an odd thing to experience. He didn't necessarily feel overwhelmed by the kind of fear anyone would feel when in the presence of someone with her kind of reputation, but there was definitely a tingle of apprehension prickling on his skin that made goosebumps break all over his arms and back.

He wouldn't exactly know how to put into words the sensation that took over him with the encounter, but he was aware that there was something there… in the aura surrounding her and in the air that moved with her, that made him halt on his tracks and hold his breath.

It was strange, something he couldn't quite pick up but than none the less made him go into full alert mode, his fingers flexing involuntarily as if they were getting ready to reach for a bow he was not even carrying.

He guessed he felt that way because this was no ordinary woman. No, she was the Queen, _the Evil Queen_ , the sorcerer everyone was accusing of casting this new curse, and he almost collided against her as he tried to get away from the chaos that was starting to take place back in the assembly.

A chaos, that needless to say, she provoked by walking away the way she did. Brash, haughty and according to many of the people gathered in the spacious saloon, looking very much guilty.

Now, the man known by his peers as Robin Hood didn't know how responsible the woman was or not about this curse that swept them out of The Enchanted Forest or if she was indeed scheming something vile like everyone was set to believe, but he did know that as soon as he saw her up close, he realized he needed to be on alert.

For what? he didn't know. But he brazed himself for it anyway. A dirty glance, an outburst of her sharp tongue, perhaps a fireball thrown right in his face if she was still in a foul mood… something, anything.

But nothing quite like that happened. No, she just walked right past him, spaced out and without even sparing a glance his way.

He didn't think she even saw him… actually, she didn't look like she was aware of much. She looked off, her movements too slow and forced, her face too pale and her eyes unfocused.

True, he didn't know if this was how she looked like on daily basis since that day marked the first time he ever saw the woman, but this was definitely not how she portrayed herself back at the assembly when the dwarf was throwing accusation her way.

No. Back there she had looked fierce, her eyes blazing and her cheeks sporting a healthy blush that spoke volumes of how annoyed she was. She had looked mighty, imposing, and very much like the Queen of many a story he heard back in The Enchanted Forest.

In contrast, this woman who walked right past him didn't look quite like the one he saw earlier on. Actually, she didn't look too well; she looked quite a bit ill, if you asked him.

That was why with a frown and one of his hard to control impulses, the man turned around on the heels of his boots and spoke the first thing that came into his mind.

"Are you alright?"

As soon as the words rolled out of his tongue, Robin realized that he shouldn't have done it, that he shouldn't have asked. What he should have done was stay on his lane and keep going his way instead of jumping head first and nosing into things that didn't concern him.

Unfortunately, he realized that a little too late, recognized how imprudent he was being the moment he asked the question and the Queen's entire posture tensed, her shoulders all squared up as she lifted her chin petulantly.

Judging by that reaction, he knew he should have just walked away as his instinct told him the moment he saw her because really, what kind of idiot approached the infamous Evil Queen on his own free will, and in a deserted corridor where she could easily burn him to a crisp without anyone taking notice?

It had been a risky impulse, one he hadn't been able to repress, not even when he was aware of how dangerous the woman was.

But what could he say? He had always been a fool when it came to helping others and the Queen looked as if she was about to fall ill at any given moment. That was something he simply couldn't ignore, so yes, maybe he was being a little short-sighted but what could he say? Common sense had never been his forte and as it happened, this new realm in which he seemed to be trapped now didn't seem to have improved his tendency of meddling into things that didn't concern him.

It was that way, almost as if having a death wish, that the thief furrowed his brows almost painfully and then took a couple of steps after her, trying to catch up before she would leave.

He even opened his mouth to call for her, but before he could utter a single word, he saw her stumble.

It was a subtle thing, barely worth a notice by the average eye, but he was an expert on picking on small details, so making good use of his quick reflexes, he moved swiftly on his feet and stood in front of her.

It happened fast, but he ended up grabbing her, his hands firmly on her elbows so she wouldn't fall.

"Milady…"

As soon as he said that, the Queen lifted her face to him, fixing a pair of deep brown eyes right into his own gaze and he was not going to lie, he was stunned in place.

Yes, he had heard a great deal about the Queen's beauty and hell, he has even confirmed it earlier that day when he saw her sitting opposite to the crowd, a distant expression on her face as everyone argued back and forth about how they all ended up in that town.

Back there he had been caught off guard by how gorgeous she actually was, so he observed with some kind of morbid fascination all of he could of the infamous royal. From the way her dark hair fell loose over her shoulders, to the restless way in which she tapped her manicured fingers to her lap, and even to that strange manner of dressing she took upon in this realm.

She looked good up there, like the Queen she was. Not necessarily evil even though she looked severe and imposing, but yes, even from afar one could easily pick up the woman was a stunner.

But up close? Damn, she was really something else.

She was stunning, in every single way. So much that she was almost ethereal, a true vision standing right in front of him with her flawless smooth skin and that full mouth carved in perfection.

It was almost a sin on itself to look at her. At least that's what he thought when he found himself completely caught up staring deep into her eyes; so deep that he was able to notice that they were not entirely a solid color, but more like two ponds of liquid brown mixed with honey droplets.

It was entrancing… to gaze into those dark orbs, and he was sure that if he kept at it a little longer, he could drown in their depths.

"Regina?"

Taken out of his trance, Robin heard someone calling the Queen and as if in cue, the raven-haired woman's eyes rolled shut, her body gave up and she went limp against him.

Yes, the Queen fainted in his arms, leaving him a little flabbergasted.

He was able to catch her though… thankfully.

"Oh my God what happened?"

Biting hard on his lips and circling her waist with one of his arms so that he could steady her, Robin's eyes moved to the woman hurrying towards him.

It was Snow White, looking very much worried, and despite the fact that he now knew the two women seemed to have overcome the dispute that wrecked an entire kingdom, he couldn't help but to shake his head in surprise.

Snow White and the Evil Queen on the same side and in amicable terms?

He'll be damned to hell, but that was certainly something he had never expected to see.

But then again, he never imagined he would ever hold a passed-out Queen in his arms either.

"Is she okay?" Snow White asked a little out of breath once she finally made it to them.

"I don't know. I think she fainted?" He adjusted his hold on her, afraid that if he let go, the woman would crumble.

Hissing, Snow ran a hand over her stepmother's hair. "Stupid, stupid woman… ugh I knew something was up with her but she's just too damn stubborn to say anything."

At Snow White's words and gentle touch, Robin blinked a couple of times, his eyes moving back to the Queen. It was a quick glance though, his eyes rapidly scanning from her dark-long eyelashes, down to the scar just above her lip, and then lower to her perfect mouth.

He didn't allow his eyes to linger much though, as he didn't want to get caught up again in the Queen's pretty features. Instead of staring, he just proceeded to lift her up in his arms, his mind unable to process that this woman who weighted almost nothing and whose face was now resting against his shoulder, was actually the Evil Queen everyone was so afraid of.

"I think it will be better if I sit her down."

He said at last, looking around to find a good place to do it. He found none.

"Yes, let's get her into her office. I'll call David." With that said, Snow turned around and showed him through a door standing opposite to the entrance of the building. She did that while taking some kind of apparatus out of her pocket and putting it to her ear.

Not minding the other woman and how she remained behind talking to herself, Robin looked around the luxurious room until he spotted a couch to the left side. It looked big enough to lay her down so he carried her there and settled her on it.

He tried to do it slowly, extremely aware of his every move. Despite his effort not to manhandle her, the Queen groaned as he put her down, the sound caught in her throat and her brows furrowing a little.

Robin held his breath, part of him expecting her to turn and lash out at him, but when she just scrunched her nose and curled the corner of her lips up, he did nothing but watch.

Even that she did beautifully and as he drank on the image of her, his fingers itched to go ahead and brush a rebel dark strand of hair out of the woman's face.

He didn't dare though. She was getting back to her senses, she even opened her eyes into slits and then closed them back again, so how would he explain such a reckless impulse as touching her?

He would look like an imprudent fool, so stepping back, he just blinked in confusion, one of his hands running down his jaw and that odd sense that he was missing something hitting him full force.

Had he meet the woman before? Seen her? He doubted it, as there was no way he would ever forget laying his eyes on her.

Unless it was of course during that pesky year that was mysteriously erased from their memories.

"Did she wake up?"

Clearing his throat, Robin saw Snow White getting between him and the Queen. She did it quickly, lowering herself so that she could try and bring the Queen back to herself.

"Regina." The Princess called softly, patting her cheek lightly. "Come on, wake up."

And yes, as simple as it was, that seemed to do the trick. The Queen quickly snarled her lips and moved her face away. "Stop hassling me."

For some reason, the Queen's dry words made Snow White chuckle. "Hey there, welcome back."

With her eyes tight shut, Regina hummed in what seemed to be a protest. Robin just watched… his trained eyes glued to the way her head moved from side to side as she tried to sit.

She was getting out of the fainting spell already, and there was a little more color in her face, so he once again wondered what just happened.

But before he could start speculating, the Queen and most powerful woman he has ever heard of, opened her eyes once again and as if there was some kind of magnet between them, she looked at him dead in the eye. Brown meeting blue in the simplest of ways. At least that's how it would look like for everyone else, but to him it felt like so much more.

He wasn't sure if this was how it felt to be bewitched, but for the longest few seconds of his life, he felt the world stop spinning… it halted abruptly, rattling him a little while he could do nothing more than to stare back.

It was like being swept away into an entire different dimension, one where only she existed.

But then, the echo of footsteps thundered all around them and just like that, the spell was broken when someone else joined them.

It was a man, and he quickly lowered down by Snow White, his hand immediately rubbing her back soothingly.

Robin recognized him as Snow's Prince, the one who has been addressing the crowd with the two women by his side back at the council.

"What happened?"

Sighing a little too dramatically, Snow White lifted and then dropped her hands. "She fainted."

The Queen groaned, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. Then she closed her eyes again and lowered her face while she pressed both hands hard into the couch.

As for the man, he blew out an incredulous huff. "Seriously?"

"Yes, if it wasn't for him, she would have fallen right on the floor."

"I was _not_ going to fall."

Apparently not minding the Queen's words, the blonde man lifted his face up and as if seeing Robin for the first time, he got back to his feet and offered him a hand.

"I guess we have to thank you then. We all know Regina wouldn't have taken it well if that happened, so it seems like you saved the day."

Taking notice of how the Queen scoffed, Robin bit hard into the inside of his cheek while shaking the man's hand firmly. "I don't think it is anyone's intentions to upset the Queen, so it was no problem. I'm Robin by the way, Robin of Locksley."

"David, and this is my wife, Snow. The Queen I gather you already know."

Sending a glance towards the woman and the way she was deliberately looking away, Robin shrugged.

"Never met her until now. Not that I would call this much of a meeting. Her black knights though, those I've definitely met. Me and my men spend quite some time running from them back in The Enchanted Forest."

"Well I'm sure you deserved it." The Queen fired back rudely, her eyebrows raising and her lips twisting. She did that while briefly looking at him, her jaw clenched and her posture rigid. Then she was back at looking away.

Humming at her quick dismissal, Robin threw his head a bit back, trying his best to bite his tongue to keep himself from responding to that.

It was not his place to do so, no... she was the Queen and he a simple thief, so the last thing he needed was to let his cheeky tongue come out to play.

It happened anyway, the remark slipped out of his mouth before he could even stop it.

It was the story of his life, knowing he shouldn't do something and doing it anyway.

"You know, considering I just saved your arse from hitting the floor back there, a simple thank you would suffice."

As soon as the words were out, all three of the people in that room looked at him, chins tilting up and eyes a little wide. He saw it, he even felt the weight of their reactions and he once again recognized his mistake.

Still, he kept his own eyes fixed on the Queen's icy-cold stare, waiting...

"So, you are Robin Hood." Snow White interrupted with a forced smile. She remained down by the Queen though and from there she extended hand in his direction.

Looking away from the chocolate deep eyes so that he could focus on Snow White instead, the corner of Robin's lips curved a little as he shook the woman's hand. "I am indeed, at your service."

"I have to say that I'm glad to know you out-bested the black knight's efforts. I mean I know firsthand how bothersome they were."

"Bothersome and persistent, yes, but not very clever. They also didn't know the woods like I did, so that gave me quite the advantage."

"I have no doubt of that, but from someone who also spent some time on the run, I have to say that never getting caught was quite impressive."

Nodding and not surprised that Snow White knew who he was, as there has been a time when both their faces graced _wanted_ posters side by side, Robin smiled.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Snow White. You know, despite the circumstances."

He pointed at the Queen, not wanting to take from the fact that she just fainted, but at the same time, finding it ironic that said woman had once upon a time ordered both of them to be arrested; all that with the intention of having them executed… and look where they were now.

"These are weird circumstances to say the least, with the curse and memory loss. I also heard we have some people unaccounted for; people that were here and suddenly disappeared and others that simply haven't been seen."

"Disappeared?" Robin asked, as he had heard none of that.

"Apparently."

"Well me and my men made camp deep into the woods, but we happen to be great trackers so if you need help in that regard, we are at your service."

"Sounds perfect to me and maybe I'll have to take you on the offer. You were not here for the first curse, right?"

"No I wasn't. Me and the rest of my Merry Men just suddenly woke up in this new realm. We are still a little lost about all of this."

"We are all lost, actually."

"David, I think we should take her to the hospital. She's back to it, but I don't like how pale she is looking or that she fainted."

Turning to his wife, David cleared his throat. "Are you sure she fainted? because that doesn't sound like Regina. Maybe it's magic. If there is a new curse, whoever casted it could be aiming for her. Everyone know she's our best bet to figure out what's going on, so what if she is being targeted? I mean, do we even know how she ended up passing out?"

Remembering how pale and stunned the Queen had looked as she moved through the corridor, Robin spoke. "It didn't look like magic to me. She looked off since I saw her walking by."

"She didn't look so good back there either, but I just thought it was because of Henry… never thought it was something to make her pass out."

" _She_ , is right here listening to all this idle talk so stop talking about me as if I'm not even here. I'm fine." The Queen finally joined the conversation, her voice more than a little groggy but strong. "I just need to go home, no need to make such a fuss."

"We are not making a fuss, Regina, you fainted."

"So I can't have a bad day without you getting your panties in a bunch?" She scoffed, but there was no trace of amusement in the sound. She didn't even add more to what she said and just lifted a hand to press it over her temples.

Shaking her head, Snow looked back to her husband and started whispering, apparently not wanting for the Queen to listen. "Let's get her to the hospital."

Watching the exchange, Robin observed as lifting both eyebrows and taking in a deep breath, David clapped his hands together. "Well, this promises to be interesting. Robin, thanks once again."

"It was no problem." He replied, chewing on the inside of his cheek as he ventured to take another look at the Queen.

By then her eyes were back close and she was shaking her head at something Snow was telling her.

She still wasn't looking a hundred percent good, so part of him wanted to pry, he wanted to step in and directly ask her how she was doing just so he could gaze into her eyes once more.

But he didn't, new realm or not, there were boundaries that shouldn't be crossed and as tantalizing as she looked, the Queen's territories were one of those lines he and his men should never venture into.

They were outlaws in a strange realm where the same Queen whose dark knights chased relentlessly after them reigned, so no, this was not his dance to dance despite of how he intervened before.

The way he saw it, the less the monarch knew of them the better, and he already made quite a bad impression so perhaps, he needed to lay low. At least until they could completely figure out on what to do.

That's why he didn't linger much, why he quietly left the moment Snow and David started to lure Regina up.

He was going back to camp, back to his son. Let the Charmings deal with the Queen, because the woman or what happened to her was definitely not his problem.

If he was lucky, he would stay out of her radar and she would never even hear of the man who left that day with the alluring scent of her dancing all around him…

XxXxXxX

It had been ages since Regina felt the need to give into the impulse of biting on her nails. Years since the last time she broke into that old habit that used to bother her mother so much.

But in that moment, as she sat by her kitchen's counter, she couldn't help but to break into the compulsive behavior and just go for it.

It was bad, enough to make her cringe, but despite the fact she knew she needed to stop, she had managed to completely chew on all ten of her fingernails and then, with the lack of material to wear off, she also started to bite into the inside of her thumb.

By then the digit was quite sore and the more it hurt, the harder she would bite.

"Okay, let's try to think this through."

Rolling her eyes at the sound of Mary Margaret's voice disrupting her way of coping, Regina lowered her hand from her mouth and placed it flat over the granite of the counter, her face moving to the side until she was able to see the way the younger woman put a cup of tea in front of her.

"Why are you still here?" And most importantly, who told her she could make herself at home and make tea in her kitchen?

She didn't ask last part though, because if she admitted she has been too spaced out to notice her presence, Snow would want to talk about it and she didn't want that… hell, she didn't even want to think about it.

"Come on, Regina, you know why I'm here. I told you I was going to help you find out what happened."

Snarling her lips, Regina shook her head in disbelief. Not because of Snow White's insistence because maybe, just maybe she has accepted the woman's help earlier on.

Yes, it has been in a moment of weakness and when she has been in complete shock, but she definitely did accept the woman's help.

Her disbelief was because of the situation… because somehow, someway, she managed to get knocked-up during the missing year, and she had no idea how could that happen, or by whom.

Last she knew she was barren and now this…

"I made a list of every male in Storybrooke and you know, possible father. We can cross names as we go and then see what we come up with."

"Oh my God." Snorting in anything but amusement, Regina shook her head, her eyes lifting to the ceiling so that she could focus on something other than the piece of paper Snow brought over.

It was humiliating, and not for the first time since she found out she was pregnant, she wondered how the hell she got herself into that situation.

"I didn't put David because… well, he's obviously not the father, and I scratched Whale off as well just because he's a lousy date and I can't imagine you giving him a chance to get you pregnant. So… Archie?"

Sending Snow a sideway glance, Regina scoffed. "No."

"Okay… so, how about Killian? by the way, have you seen him, or Neal for that matter?"

"No I haven't. And you can scratch both Capitan eyeliner and the Dark One's son off the list. I mean are you even being serious?"

Clicking her tongue to the roof of her mouth as she actually scratched the names off, Snow continued. "Alright so moving on. I think we will both agree that Leroy is a big no too but how about-"

Before Snow White could continue with her nonsense, Regina cut her off. "Who are you going to suggest now, Geppetto or a two headed mutant goblin?"

Her voice came out dripping venom, that was how annoyed the woman made her feel, and to show the extent of her acrid mood, Regina reached for the paper and in a fit that was definitely not regal, she tore it into pieces and threw it away.

"I was actually going to say-"

"This is stupid! You want to know why? because I would never willingly sleep with anyone in this stupid town or in that list, let alone would I let them get me pregnant."

Getting to her feet, she gave one last defiant look at Snow and then she meant to walk away.

"You don't have to take it out on me, Regina, this is not my fault."

The town's former mayor guffawed at the stiffness in Snow White's tone because sure, it wasn't the younger woman's fault, but getting riled up was her mechanism of defense to prevent herself from completely freaking out about the whole situation.

Not that it was helping much, because as the implications of her new predicament kept settling in, she could feel the tightness that has been getting hold of her chest creep up to her throat, squeezing her passage of air, blocking the vital oxygen from ever reaching her lungs.

It was bad, because the thoughts invading her mind about how the creature growing in her womb was conceived ranged from the simply mundane to the most macabre, and the more she thought about it, the harder the grip on her throat would get…

What could she say though? She just couldn't stop the questions from invading her. Like what if the child she was carrying was the product of dark magic, one she created in a moment of desperation and that would once again corrupt her inside out? or what if this pregnancy was the consequence of a less than savory and unconsented encounter?

She doubted she would ever allow such a thing to happen, not after she was able to escape the hell her marriage to the King has been, but how could she be sure?

The way she saw it, the possibilities were endless and the fact that she didn't know, was so overwhelming that it physically hurt.

The pressure was too much, her worse fears wrapping their fingers around her throat, crushing so hard that for a wild second she even was afraid she would never be able to breathe again.

She actually lifted her hands up to the base of her neck, her fingers digging into her flesh as her face screwed up in horror because yes, she was pregnant… she was pregnant and she couldn't breathe…

"Hey, look at me."

Feeling Snow reach her shoulders, Regina snapped back to reality, a throaty gasp torn out of her letting her breathe again.

"You are not alone in this, okay?"

Blowing off a shaky breath, Regina blinked. Of course she was alone, as she has always been. She didn't say it out loud though because that would grant one of Snow White's unity and family speeches and she was really not in the mood for that.

"You are focusing on the negative side of this instead of the positive, because Regina, this pregnancy could be your chance at happiness."

Shaking her head and blinking the tears that wanted to slide out of her eyes, Regina looked away because no, her happiness was Henry and this child… well, she didn't even know what to think about it.

It was still too unreal, and if it wasn't because she actually got a sonogram done and heard the creature's heartbeat, she would still think this was a cruel joke.

"I mean I know I'm looking at mine pregnancy that way. Not as a way to replace what I lost, but as a new beginning."

"Easy for you to say that. You know this child to be your husband's while I…" She stopped there, scrunching her eyes shut. "I have no idea how _mine_ was even conceived. As if that isn't bad enough, I had to watch you go through a list of possible fathers that included a cricket and your stupid dwarfs."

Snow cleared her throat, Regina heard her do it. "I was trying to help."

"Well you didn't." She hissed, blinking her eyes open.

"Okay so maybe that was a bad idea, but what else can we do? It's not like you remember or I don't know… like you have something to go by… a clue or whatever."

Tilting her chin up abruptly, Regina pursed her lips, her mind going back to three days ago when she woke up.

She has done it feeling exhausted, brokenhearted and disoriented, but there has been something. A little detail that definitely caught her attention but that later got lost in the tumult of waking into a new curse.

"There might be something."

With the words mumbled in a strangled breath, she quickly turned on her feet and as if in a trance, she walked towards her bedroom. Once there she went directly to the first drawer in her dresser. After opening it, she took out a necklace she has been wearing when she woke up…

It wasn't the necklace what she was looking for, but the golden ring that had been hanging from it… same one she had been clutching when her eyes opened.

"What is it?" Snow, who apparently followed her asked.

Narrowing her eyes, Regina bit hard into the inside of her cheek and watched the small ring closely.

"I don't know, I had it when I woke up. I must have brought it back from the Enchanted Forest."

Humming, Snow White walked even closer and once by her side, she took the ring between her thumb and her forefinger, making it roll and inspecting it through curious eyes.

"This could easily be a wedding ring Regina."

"It is not, it was in a necklace, not in my finger. So don't even suggest I got married, okay?"

No, just thinking about that was ridiculous, as marrying was a mistake she swore never to make again. She didn't even have to remember to know that she would never go that route.

Arching an eyebrow, Snow sent her a weird look. "It has an inscription though, _R &R_… as if in Regina and-" Gasping and her eyes getting as wide as she has ever seen them, Snow White reached for Regina's hand to squeeze it hard. "Oh my God Regina, _Robin_."

Snarling her lips in a mix of annoyance and forced disgust, the Queen groaned. "The thief? No, I mean are you out of your mind? I just had to meet him once to know it's not _him_."

Or was he? Because there has been something about him, something about his eyes and his sole presence that for a wild moment had her completely entranced back at her office.

He had rendered her basically speechless, and even though she had been able to quickly recuperate from that first impression, she still couldn't put her finger on why she reacted like that.

She ended up dismissing it as an effect of having fainted, of still feeling a bit off after the weird episode, but the truth was that she was not sure. She just knew that as long as he has been standing there, stealing glances her way, she had felt completely shook.

Later on, with the unexpected news she received, she completely forgot about the strange feeling, but now that Snow brought _him_ up, she couldn't help but to wonder…

"I don't know, you said yourself that you would never sleep with anyone from this town and guess what, he is actually not from here. And he's kind of cute so…"

Blowing out a breath, Regina scrunched her nose. "He smells like forest so no; I wouldn't sleep with him either. I'm a Queen and a bit more refined than that." Besides he and his irreverence kind of rubbed her the wrong way so no… just no.

Sure, those eyes with a thousand hues of blues and that jawline that could cut, would have tangled her hormones long ago, but she was sure she needed more that good looks to make her forget about her grief.

"I think it could be him. It would be even epic… the way you two got back together, you know, with you fainting in his arms and all that."

"I think you're watching too many soap operas."

"You should talk to him."

Groaning, Regina did a double take. "Yeah, and tell him exactly what? Because I don't think a _'hey, you don't know me and I don't know you, but Snow White thinks I could be pregnant with your child_ ' is going to cut it."

Pursing her lips and putting the ring back in Regina's hand, Snow White shrugged. "And what would you suggest then?"

Chewing on her lips, Regina sighed. "I will have the child by my own."

Yes, because somehow, someway, knowing the origins of her pregnancy scared her more than the uncertainty, especially if the thief had anything to do with it.

"Um, okay… I'm not saying you are not capable of doing that because we all know you raised Henry on your own, but this is different. If the father I s indeed here, he has a right to know. Your baby has a right to know and so do you."

"To know what? Without my memories there's nothing to know so for once. Keep out of my business and just don't tell anybody about this."

Snow lifted her hands in the air before letting them drop, and while she looked back at her with her sad puppy eyes, Regina snarled her lips.

"I'm being serious, Snow. You can't tell _anyone_ , let alone that… thief."

"Alright, I won't..."

Having heard that before and knowing the consequences that brought her, Regina hoped that this time, Snow White could keep her secret. She doubted it, but she would deal with another disappointment when the time came.

"But, I really think that if Robin being the father is a possibility, then you should definitely let him know. I don't know… at least show him the ring, maybe he recognizes it."

Closing her hand into a fist so that the ring would stay safely into her palm, Regina shook her head because no, she didn't want to do it. She didn't want to go and ask. But as her resolution of keeping her pregnancy to herself started to build, all she could think was on blue eyes and a dimple smile…


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this part was added last minute so my apologies if it feels a bit rushed. Anyway, there's something in this chapter that may look familiar to a few of my readers… if you pick it up let me know ;-p

_A slight shiver ran down her spine as she felt him press to her back, and when his arms slid past her middle so_

_he could reach forward to grab the reins of the horse they were both mounting, she just had to hold her breath._

_It was a strange sensation, the one in her gut and in her mind, one that was sending small bolts of electricity all through her body, forming at the pit of her stomach and then shooting in all directions._

_She wouldn't know how to explain what was happening or what kind of spell he had on her, but the way she could feel him everywhere, his presence wrapping her all around and his scent overwhelming all of her senses, was kind of disconcerting her._

_She basically couldn't think, couldn't comprehend why she was there, on a horse with him, but at least the rest of her senses were on high alert._

_Especially, when it came to how she was breathing on him, on the scent of something clean but at the same time masculine. It was fresh, like the breeze itself but it also was deep like the forest and just so… him._

_She wasn't sure how she knew that was the signature smell of him because she didn't know him, but just the way he and all that was him swirled all around felt familiar… perhaps even meaningful._

_It almost made her want to maneuver herself around so that she could face him and maybe bury her nose into his neck to get a better chance at figuring out what it was about his scent that was drawing her in._

_She almost did..._

_Almost… but she knew the movement wouldn't be well received. She was after all the Evil Queen and he was Robin freaking Hood, Mr. Steal from the rich and give to the poor._

_So instead of doing such a thing, the Queen just went along, watching the panorama displaying in front of them as they kept moving into the forest, the outline of her castle getting lost behind them and the world blurring a little around the edges._

_"Where to?" He asked after doing a quick assessment around the perimeter and God, how could his voice carry so many deep undertones?_

_Or an even better question, why was it affecting her so much?_

_Chewing on her lips and very aware of his chin hovering over her shoulder, Regina showed him, pointing the way, her back straight and her face tilted a bit towards him._

_"And do you mind me asking what it is that we're looking for in there?"_

_Shivering at the way his voice traveled all the way from her ear to her toes, Regina hummed, closing her eyes for a couple of seconds._

_"I'm actually looking for a flower, Gardenia."_

_"Flowers… Is that so?" He chuckled, the rippling effect of the raspy sound making her feel out of breath._

_But… wanting to get a hold, she just cleared her throat and tried to act as civil as she could._

_"It's for sleeping. Gardenias are pretty useful if you are having trouble sleeping through the night."_

_"And are you?"_

_Grinning, she threw her head back. "Just a little."_

_He didn't say anything, but pressing her tongue to the corner of her lips, Regina placed her hands on top of his; guiding him to the left._

_"That way."_

_He made the horse go where she wanted, slowing the pace and for whatever reason, he allowed her hands to linger over his._

_He didn't protest the touch nor did he move his hand away._

_"I have my men taking turns patrolling around the castle, so if you need any of these plants you can simply let them know and they'll get them for you. There's no need for you to roam around on your own out here."_

_"And what would the fun be in that? I needed to get out of that castle more than I need my beauty sleep. I'm suffocating in there."_

_"Oh."_

_"Besides, I don't think your men will be amused if I go to them asking them to bring me flowers."_

_Robin snorted, and maybe she imagined it but she felt the tip of his nose brush into the crook of her neck._

_"They hate me, everyone in there does and they will not hesitate in bringing me the wrong plant, perhaps a poisonous one just to see me gone so no, thanks for the offer but I rather do this on my own."_

_"Can't talk about everyone, but I don't think they would do that. I mean… you are not the most popular person there, but I highly doubt they want to get rid of you like that. They're just… I think you just intimidate them. I don't think they know what to make out of you. For years, your reputation in the Enchanted Forest preceded you, and here you are, in flesh and blood and you're far from what we all made of you. I think that disconcerts them a little."_

_Humming, Regina arched an eyebrow. "You think so?" She kept her voice low and breathy, and she just wished she could fully face him to weight on his expression._

_"Yes."_

_"How about you, do I intimidate you?"_

_The man merely chuckled, his head tilting in her direction. "I have a much thicker skin than most, so I wouldn't say intimidated would be the word. But you can be, you know… intimidating, you're harsh, even abrasive, so I get why most people want to be out of your way."_

_Breathing in, Regina pouted, mentally taking notes od the things she was doing wrong. "I guess I can be… all of those things…"_

_"Yes. But like I said, my skin is much thicker than my men's and well, I also happen to be more perceptive than them."_

_Regina's eyebrow rose. "Meaning?"_

_"Meaning that I can see things that they can't. You are guarded, and you put these huge walls around you so that no one can peek through. But I've seen things and I don't think Snow White would be so taken with you if you were as bad as you want people to believe. For example, maybe you hate us all but well… you haven't yet kicked us out."_

_"I don't hate you-"_

_Robin hummed, and once again, she felt his nose too close to her neck. "See, you don't intimidate me, but you sure as hell disconcert me…_ "

XxXxX

Regina woke up to the distinct feeling that her brain was buzzing. It was an insistent thing, like a thousand bees taking residence inside her skull, fluttering and scuffling within the enclosed space until she had no other choice than to shake the feeling out of her head.

It got a little better that way, shaking it off, the sound dwindling down to a slight hum and then, subsequently quieting down.

As strange as that was, it wasn't the first time she woke up like that, with her thoughts drowning into a thrum and the vague memory of waking out of a dream slowly fading away.

Yes, she was dimly aware that she had been dreaming, but the actual memory of it got lost in her subconscious. Meaning that instead of remembering what happened, what her mind focused into was in the fact that whatever had taken over her sleep left her completely worn out. Tired even, and more than a little confused.

Actually, that was the first concrete thought to cross her mind ever since she blinked her eyes open to find herself alone in the darkness that was swallowing everything that surrounded her, that she was lost.

She was home, in her own bed, but there was a nagging sensation gnawing at her bones that was bothering her.

It was like she knew she needed to remember what went on in her dreams, but at the same time she was simply unable to remember.

It was frustrating, to say the least, but that was how it was.

Running the palm of her right hand over her still sleepy eyes as a cold breeze coming through her open window swept around her, Regina sighed loudly, changing the tune of her thoughts and wondering instead how it was that she fell asleep so early in the first place.

It was dark, sure, but according to her alarm clock, it was just a little after nine, definitely too early to be in bed.

But that was how it was with her since she lost Henry… that was how she felt since she was told about the pregnancy thing… tired and sleepy. Not only because the creature mysteriously growing inside of her was apparently absorbing all of her energy, but also because she hasn't been able to stop her mind from running all over the place and that was exhausting.

She was drained, both physically and mentally, and the toll of that was finally weighing down on her.

Closing her eyes, her hand absentmindedly settled over her still flat stomach… her fingers ghosting over as they have been doing for the last couple of days. She felt around, trying to make sense out of what was happening

But since that wasn't the route she wanted to go that night, the dark-haired woman forced her hand away and got out of bed, the notion that she needed to crawl out of that senseless routine of staying home, thinking and brooding, permeating into her psyche.

She decided to venture out of her house so that she could clear her mind in a different scenario, one where she could breathe some fresh air.

It was with that in mind that she changed into something more presentable, grabbed her things and just went out.

She walked into the night until time moved around her. She walked for hours, until her feet started to resent her journey and then she walked some more.

What could she say? Moving provided her the time she needed to ground herself… to calm some of the turmoil of sensations taking over her.

It was in a way relaxing, because even though her problems were still there, she could at least focus in something else… in walking, in the dull ache running down her legs and in the way the chilly night embraced her.

Crossing her arms up to her chest so that she could keep some of her body warmth to herself, Regina kept moving aimlessly, her eyes set forward into the darkness of the night.

As she walked, the sound of her boots making contact with the pavement preceded her steps and they echoed all around her, the sound strong enough to muffle the mournful singing of the wind.

At that hour, there was no other soul wandering the street apart from her, there was no movement… nothing to interrupt her and in some way the whole scenario was soothing; the stillness of the night was comforting to her and even the bitter cold was good to her senses.

It was at this hour that she liked to be out and about, when the whole town slept and her own insomnia would hit the hardest. She was in her element in the dark, cold and alone.

On the downside, this was also the time when her mind would swirl in circles around matters she didn't know how to deal with. Henry and how much she missed him, in the whole missing year, the new curse and well, the one she couldn't leave out, her pregnancy.

Taking in a deep breath and lowering her head so that she could look at the ground beneath her feet, Regina pursed her lips and kept walking. She walked until she suddenly found herself deep into the woods… a campfire illuminating her surroundings and the mysterious sounds of the night ringing in her ears.

It took her aback to see where her subconscious brought her over so she halted on her tracks, meaning to turn around and leave. She knew where she was and what was there and it was definitely not a thing she wanted to confront. Actually, it was something she has been evading for days and she intended to keep it that way.

But before she could even turn, it happened.

"Your Majesty?"

Startling a little at the sound of being called and by whom, the former Queen tensed her jaw and lifted her head high. By all means she should leave, but for some reason she ended up facing the owner of the voice.

"Robin Hood." She hissed through clenched teeth, looking at the man adjust the crossbow he has been carrying in one hand while the other one swept down his jaw.

"I almost shot an arrow right between your eyes." He said, and for such a statement, there was a rueful smile taking over his face.

"So much for your hospitality."

She eyed him down critically, the corner of her lip twitching as she tried to hold down a grimace.

No. He couldn't be the father of her unborn child. Snow was simply out of her mind for even suggesting him… or was she?

He wasn't a bad looking man after all, but his impertinent manners left much to be desired, and she was having a hard time imagining herself letting that slip just because of his dimple smile made her tingle all over…

"My apologies, milady, but there has been reports of a mad man running wild through the woods and… well, I kind of thought you were him."

"Really?" Was her icy reply, her eyes hard on him as she tried to force her brain into remembering.

She came up blank.

Not minding her cold attitude, the man used the edge of his teeth to take off one of his gloves, his eyes sparkling as he imprudently stared at her.

"I see you recuperated brilliantly from the fainting spell."

Cringing at the awful memory, Regina swallowed on dry. She should leave, just turn around and go the same way she came in; but it suddenly occurred to her that maybe what she needed was to fully discard or even confirm the man as a possible father of her creature.

Regardless of the outcome, knowing would give her a little peace of mind and that was something she needed in that moment; to appease some of her biggest fears…

It was with that in mind that searching into the pocket of her coat, she took the ring out, clutching it hard in her closed hand and then relaxing the grip to show it to him.

"Have you… seen this before?"

Lowering the blue of his eyes to the palm of her hand, Robin's eyes narrowed, and for a slight second, his face became a little somber.

"Where did you get that from?" He asked, trying to take it.

Before he could even reach it, Regina closed her hand into a fist and tilted her chin up. "Have you seen it, yes or no?"

Waiting for a reply, her other hand absentmindedly went to her stomach, to her baby.

"I have, that ring belongs to me. Now where did you get it from?"

Biting hard the inside of her cheek, Regina nodded… her world trembling and then stilling. It was a strange sensation, and not really knowing what to think or what to say, she just looked at him long enough to feel her stomach turn to water.

It was as if panic was taking hold of her, so putting the ring back in her pocket, she turned in her feet and started to walk away.

Quickening her steps, the Queen ran her fingers through her hair and clenched her jaw until it hurt. In some way it was ridiculous that she was fleeing from him, she was aware of that… but even as she knew it, she couldn't help but to let that instinct of running take over her system.

"Regina." She heard him call after her and closing her eyes for a few seconds, she halted on her tracks. Staying there took a lot of effort from her part, but deep in her mind she knew that she couldn't just run.

"The ring-"

"I'm pregnant." Turning to him, she blurted out, cutting him off. "And it is my belief that the owner of that ring could be the father."

There, she said it. She just grabbed the bull by the horns as a way to get this over with already.

Now, she expected a lot of things from this thief, from disgust, to wonder and maybe for him to bombard her with endless questions, especially since he was looking at her so serious… but when his face relaxed and he laughed at her admission, she was taken a bit aback.

"Alright, is this a prank? Did Little John put you up to it?"

"Do I look like the kind that pulls pranks?"

"No but-"

Robin's eyes were shining, his lips still corrupted by that annoying stupid smile and for some reason, that riled Regina up.

There she was, telling him something serious and in a way grave and he genuinely believed it was a joke.

As if she would ever joke with something like that.

His response also rubbed a little on her pride, because she has seen a lot of reactions when it came to her, but never before had she seen a man laughing at the possibility of taking her to bed.

"You know what? Forget I even told you this."

After saying that, she grabbed the ring once again and threw it at him. Only then did the man's face sober up.

Not like she had much time to dwell on his change of mood, because as his brows started to furrow and his jaw clenched a little, she disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke…

Screw him, she was going to have this baby on her own and that was it.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

"So let me see if I get this straight. Last night, while you were standing watch over camp, the Queen… _The Evil Queen_ came by and told you she was expecting a child of yours and you… you laughed?"

Blowing out the breath he had been holding inside his mouth for the last several seconds, the man known as Robin Hood by friend and foe alike, brought one of his hands to the back of his neck, his fingers curling around the tense muscle as he sent a bashful glance towards the man sitting opposite to him.

It was one of his Merry Men, Will Scarlet, the most recent member of the band of outlaws, but one that has come to earn his full trust. He had been the one who came to relieve him of his duties first thing in the morning, and probably taking notice of the distress that had been eating him inside out since the Queen's visit, he asked what was him.

Robin didn't want to say at first because what Regina told him was something he was still trying to chew on and he needed a further talk on the matter with her, but Will has been insistent and well, he needed someone he could confide into, someone who wouldn't walk from there and tell everyone his own version of what was talked there and Will was that man.

He may be a bit of an arse at times, but unlike John, he wasn't into gossip and that was what Robin needed in that moment, discretion and an honest opinion.

But now, after he said what he said, Will was apparently waiting for an answer, his eyes huge and his mouth hanging slightly open.

If Robin had to be honest, the man looked even more lost than what he was feeling himself so wanting to say something that would make him desist of looking at him like he was doing at the moment, he blurted out the first thing that came into his mind.

"Technically, she said that she _thought_ I could be, you know, the father… given the fact she had my ring-"

"And you laughed." Will interrupted him, one of his eyebrows raising high as he pinned him down with an intense stare. "You laughed in the Queen's face the moment she told you."

Twisting his lips into a pained grimace, the bow-man dropped his hand to his lap forcefully, once again feeling the weight of everything that happened during the previous night fall heavy on him.

"Yes, I'm afraid I may have done that."

Actually, that was exactly what he did. He wasn't proud of it, in fact… only thinking about it made him cringe in shame. But on his defense, the woman caught him completely off guard with such a revelation, and in his confusion, he ended up doing what he did.

"And why the bloody hell did you do that, you big idiot?"

Sucking in a deep breath, Robin shrugged. He wasn't sure how it all came to happen the way it did. It all just went by so fast that he never got to braze himself for what was coming, for any of the things that happened from the moment he spotted her.

All of it has been too unexpected. First it had been the surprise of seeing her right outside his camp, the sight of her a beautiful apparition that had left him grinning like a fool.

Sure, he almost shot an arrow right between her eyes as she had startled him, but once he realized who she was he just stood there, babbling some nonsense as he eagerly drank in the image of her.

It kind of made him feel silly, as if he was a lad passing fancy; but what could he say to that when it has been something he couldn't stop himself from feeling? After all, ever since the woman basically fainted in his arms, he had been unable to completely ban her from his mind and there she had been, looking prettier that what he remembered and at reaching distance.

But then, the ring she showed him plus her words shook him out his trance. The implications of what she was saying not quite sinking in and then… well, his bloody reaction.

It wasn't a valid excuse given the seriousness of the situation, but the moment she told him, his mind hadn't been able to fully grasp on what she really meant and the most logical explanation he could come up with was that she was pulling a prank on him.

It didn't make sense now that his head was clear because really, why would she do something like that? She didn't strike him as someone who had that particular sense of humor so no. But back then, the whole thing being a joke felt more rational than he actually fathering a child of hers so yes, he laughed.

And boy oh boy, he had been dead wrong.

"I think I cocked it up."

Snorting and shaking his head in what appeared to be disbelief, Will slapped a hand to his forehead. "Well no shit, mate, of course you cocked it up. Not once, but twice! I mean… you got the Queen with child? What were you thinking?"

"I don't remember any of it!" Robin exclaimed in his defense because he really didn't. As far as he was concerned, he had never interacted with the woman before arriving to Storybrooke, so he was still having a hard time contemplating the possibility of the two of them reproducing.

Yes, the woman was gorgeous and he was sure he would find her so in any kind of reality. But it was more than obvious that she didn't like him, so the thought of a woman like her, a Queen in all her right, getting intimate enough to procreate with a simple thief like him was reaching too far.

One only had to take notice of the disdain in her eyes whenever she looked at him to know that.

That's why he had a hard time believing her when she first told him, why he thought it was a joke.

"Alright… that's fair. But if you can't remember a thing and neither does her, how can she be sure this baby is even yours? I don't mean any disrespect for our beloved Queen, but for all we know, that baby could be anyone's."

Chewing hard on the inside of his cheek, the blue-eyed man fished for the ring inside his pocket and showed it to Will; the small piece of jewelry secured between his thumb and his forefinger.

"This ring belonged to my mum, as it has been her own mother's before her, and it would have been Marian's if it wasn't because we were on the run the moment we got together. For years I thought it lost, wasn't even in my mind anymore… but after the Queen wiped half the Enchanted Forrest out existence with the first curse, we were able to return to Sherwood and I found it among all the goods at Nottingham's."

Yes, he had found it as well as most of the things the bloody bastard took from him after he was declared an enemy of the Crown. Ever since he got it back, he had been carrying it with him.

It was the only link he had of the mother he lost so young, so he made sure to always keep it safe.

But then, he woke up in this new realm and it was gone. He searched and searched in vain, so he assumed it got lost once again, at least until the Queen showed up with it.

"She had it. Not only that, but these initials you see here, the _R &R, _as in Robin and Regina? That was definitely not there before. _This_ was done during the missing year."

Hissing, Will narrowed his eyes to have a better look at the carved initials, and when he was satisfied with what he saw, he whistled.

"Wow. So you think you actually tied the knot with the Queen?"

"This is not a wedding band-" Robin began to say as a matter of fact, slipping the ring halfway into his pinky finger. But before he could go on, Scarlet cut him off.

"But if you did, does that makes you King? perhaps the Evil King or maybe something more unique like the Dark King? Do I have to bow down to you now, your Majesty?"

With the corner of his lips curving in annoyance, Robin glared as his supposedly good friend. "Shut up, you wanker. This is serious right here."

As a response, Will clicked his tongue to the roof of his mouth and eyed him knowingly. "If it was so serious, you shouldn't have laughed at her, you know?"

"Bloody hell, mate, are you going to throw that in my face any chance you get?"

His fellow outlaw lifted both hands in the air in defense. "I won't, I'm on your side here. The Queen though... I bet she looks at you as the bloke who impregnated her and then laughed when she told him."

Groaning because Will was probably right, Robin slumped forward, his head hanging low between his shoulders in a mixture of mortification and shame.

Yes, he acted like a complete arse with her, he knew it and that was not the impression he wanted the Queen to have of him. Unfortunately, by the time he realized his mistake, she was already gone, so he never got to fix his bloody mess. Now he was there, hours later and still kicking himself for such a reckless reaction.

"It was a shitty thing, what you did; but you shouldn't beat yourself too hard about it. What she came to tell you wasn't a small thing, mate. We're talking about a lifetime commitment over something neither of you remembers-"

Swallowing on dry as he tried not to weight on the repercussions of what this situation meant for him, Robin tried to focus all his attention on Will's little rant about royal babies and yes, he managed, for the most part. But every once in a while he would space out and then, when he tried to put his friend's words together so they would make some sense for him to comprehend, he would get lost in translation and his eyes would go back to the ring in his finger… his mind wondering.

It was impossible not to do that, to wonder. After all, he wanted to know how the Queen ended up with a ring that had been in his family for generations.

He was curious, ridiculously so and for some reason, he stared at the golden ring as if it carried all the answers he needed.

It worked, in a way, because the more his blue colored eyes stared, the more he was sure he would never give it to someone unless she was an important part of his life. So with that in mind, what did it all mean?

Could it be that her suspicions were true and he was in fact the father of her unborn child? He didn't think she would even go to him if that wasn't a huge possibility in her book, so what if that was it?

That woman was proud, he didn't need to know her to see this, so if she came to him it had to be because she was sure… or at least almost sure.

"I'm going to respond to her, for the child, whether it is mine or not." He said at last, decided, cutting Will's rant short. As soon as he said it, the riot he had been feeling at the pit of his stomach calmed down a little.

It was a risk, sure, he was aware of that and like Will said, it was a lifetime commitment to a child that could at the end not even be his; but it also felt like the right thing to do.

He only had to remember the broken look on her eyes as she threw the ring at him while telling him to forget what she just said, or even the way she fainted in his arms to know this was what he should do.

Yes, she was the Evil Queen and anyone with a little bit of sense in them would evade her and anything related to her like the pest itself, but he wasn't just anyone… no, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to do it just to help someone that needed it, if it was because of the pull he inexplicably felt towards her, or because _he_ had seen a side of her that was vulnerable and all too human, but he couldn't turn a blind eye on what was going on.

"What? You'll respond to her without being completely sure the baby's yours? I don't know mate… I mean I'm not telling you to ignore the matter and keep on with your life because that's just not you. But you can't jump into this head first either. This isn't just any woman, we are talking about the Evil Queen here so if I were you, I would try to keep some distance until I was completely sure."

"So you're telling me to turn my back on the woman that could very well be carrying a child of mine? A woman I… somehow, someway considered so important to give her this?"

He pointed at the ring, his eyes fixed intently on Will Scarlett.

"No, I'm telling you that you don't even if you gave her that or if she took it, so before-"

Lifting a hand and interrupting whatever Will was going to say, Robin cleared his throat. "Listen, I made up my mind so if what you are going to say is not to fully support me, then don't even say it."

Quirking his lips, Will sighed. "Alright, whatever you say then. Just be careful, Locksley, as I don't want to see you get burned with this."

Nodding, Robin sighed, the warning of his friend drilling into his brain until it was incrusted so deep he was sure he would have it there forever. It dug, settling into his very core, and even as he left the spot and Will remained behind, the echo of such words bounced within his skull insistently enough to give him quite a headache.

He bore it well though, pushing the discomfort aside so that he could join Roland in their mornings routine. That way they ate their breakfast, they played their games, and when the boy finally tired and announced he wanted his nap, he even walked with him into their tent to lay down with him.

Not that he got any rest out of that, tired as he was, because even though his body resented the lack of sleep, his mind was too riled up to shut down.

He tried, but at the end, what he did was ask Little John to keep an eye on his son, splash cold water to his face and then head into town to look for the Queen.

He moved out of camp and into the streets of Storybrooke out of instinct, one hand clamped to the back of his neck as he narrowed his eyes into slits.

By that hour, the sun was hanging impossibly high in a clear blue sky that extended as far as the eye could see, and the rays of light spilling all around him were hurting his sensitive sight. Still, he pushed through until he was at last in front of the huge house he was told belonged to _her_.

It surprised him, how accessible it was, considering that her castle in the Enchanted Forest had been protected by magic. But in this realm, all he had to do was walk to the door and knock.

One time and then another.

There was no answer though, so running a hand through his short hair, Robin turned his back to the door and took a look around.

It was quiet there, the road that lead to her house deserted of people and their weird wheeled carriages. There seemed to be no movement from inside the house either, so he wondered if she was even there.

For all he knew she wasn't… or she was and was by all means ignoring him.

He wouldn't put it past her, after all, she had looked pretty pissed off last time he saw her and well, given the fact that he had apparently rubbed her the wrong way since before their short but fateful conversation the night before, it would make sense for her not to want anything to do with him.

Which was a bloody inconvenience given the circumstances.

Still, he knocked once more, waiting for what felt like an eternity as a battle of wills started to take place inside of him.

Part of him was internally yelling at his subconscious to leave now that he had time, to go back the same way he came in and just do as she told him to do, forget that she ever told him about the child and keep living his life in the woods as he could. But there was another part, one that was apparently more insistent, that was telling him to stay there and wait. She had to walk by that door at some point and when she did, he would do what he needed to do.

He guesses she wasn't going to be pleased to see him there, but for some reason, that knowledge didn't make his resolution tremble a bit.

No, he went there with a purpose, and Evil Queen or not, he wasn't going to leave until he made his intentions known.

With that in mind, he knocked again, and when at last he detected the muffled sound of steps from inside the house, he straightened his back, bit into the inside of his cheek and waited until the door opened.

It happened as if in slow motion, one moment he was staring at the wooden door and then it was slowly opening. Time dragged slowly as little by little, the Queen in all her glory was revealed at the other side.

"What's the damn hurry? I heard you the first time you knocked, for Christ's sake!" She blurted out angrily and Robin was going to take she was waiting on someone else, because she answered without even paying attention.

She was actually looking down, completely focused on fixing her shoe.

Robin just stared because damn she was stunning, but when she finally lifted her chin to meet with him face to face, the spell that made it all feel too slow broke and everything after that happened way too fast.

The corner of her lip curled up in what appeared to be displeasure, her eyes shadowed and yeah, she also tried to close the door on him. His reflexes were good though, and before that could happen, he grabbed for it, preventing it to completely close.

"Wait-"

Clenching her jaw and keeping her hard eyes on him, the Queen swirled her wrist and without even having to touch it, the door went to slam shut once again.

It would have worked if it wasn't because his hand was still grabbing for it, so instead of closing, what the door did was to painfully crush his fingers and then bounce back open.

Automatically pulling his hand away and nursing it to his chest, Robin hissed loudly and turned around, his face screwing in pain as a thousand expletives at the tip of his tongue begged to be released.

"Fucking shit…" He groaned at last, blowing out a breath as he lifted his injured hand to inspect the damage.

His fingers were banged up and throbbing, but because he could move them, he was going to take he didn't break anything.

"Serves you well for putting your hand between a closing door." The Queen hissed almost angrily and Robin huffed, turning around to face her.

She was standing by the door, a serious expression on her face and one of her hands resting on her hip.

"Well, I didn't actually expect you to try and maim me." He hissed again, his brows furrowed and the expression on his face far from pleasant.

Still, the Queen didn't even bat an eyelash at his obvious discomfort. "What do you want?"

Pressing the hand to his lips as if that would help him ease the pain, Robin scoffed. "Jeez, I don't know… I was thinking we could talk about the bomb you dropped on me last night?"

"I told you to forget about it." She replied as her face remained a stoic mask that didn't give anything away.

Robin would have laughed, albeit a little bitterly at that, because how could he forget such a thing? but he knew the adverse effects of his inopportune laughs so he refrained and instead cleared his throat.

"Regina-"

"It's Your Majesty." She stood a little taller after saying that, her lips pursing a little.

Humming, the former outlaw twisted his lips. "Yeah, well… I think I prefer to call someone who just told me she was expecting a child of mine by her given name. You know, makes it less impersonal."

He tried to send her an amicable smile, wanting to show her he came in peace. It didn't work, and if anything, her posture became even more rigid.

"Listen. I clearly made a mistake by telling you this, I wasn't thinking clearly last night and… well, the child is obviously not yours."

Thinking on the ring, Robin pressed the tip of his tongue to the corner of his lips. "Why is it obvious?"

Regina scoffed, looking up to the skies for a few seconds before returning her eyes to him.

"Because I would never mingle with the likes of you. Not willingly, at least." She hissed in a very condescending tone as she pinned him with a hard stare. "You are thief that lives in the woods and probably bathes in the river, so no."

In that moment, with that hard look in her eyes, Robin could imagine her as the infamous Evil Queen everyone talked about, and still, he didn't feel intimidated.

Maybe a little annoyed, and because he apparently never learned from his mistakes, he replied to her almost in kind.

"Well, you are a bit stuck-up for my taste as well but here we are. For some reason I gave you my ring and for me that's enough to know what I have to do. I'll respond for the child."

Her eyebrow rose. "And what makes you think I need you to respond? I can do this on my own."

He nodded, because through Little John he heard the Queen already had a boy that she raised on her own, so it wasn't like he doubted that. But he wasn't going to let a child that could be his grow up without knowing him.

"I'm sure you can. But that doesn't mean you have to. Look, I know we started this the wrong way, mainly because of me and I apologize for it, I truly do. But if that child is mine, I'm not going to turn my back away just because you don't like me. I'm in this, whether you like it or not."

Closing her eyes and running her fingers over her temples, Regina shook her head. "We don't even know for sure if its yours."

"It doesn't matter. That child will have a father in me and a brother in my son."

Her eyes opened at that and if he wasn't mistaken, he saw them soften a little. "You have a son?"

"I do, Roland. He's four and quite a handful, but he'll take well on this baby."

Snorting, Regina looked away once again. "And the mother? Please don't tell me I'll have an angry wife chewing my ass because of this child being possibly yours."

"No. My wife died a few years ago."

Breathing out, Regina closed her eyes again, almost as if she was considering things… but before she could say anything, the sound of a wheeled carriage broke the silence and both Robin and Regina turned towards it as it pulled in front of her house.

It was David, Snow White's husband and judging by the look on his face, something wasn't quite well.

"Hop in, the two of you, something happened and we need you right now…"

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there, first of all thanks so much for sticking to this story, I appreciate the support. Now, this one is more flashback than anything so I hope it doesn't throw you guys off (especially if you read that other one). At the end I added a bit of the present to keep the story going so that kinds of even things. Enjoy

_It took Regina a little over three months so that she could finally understand the real reason why it irked her so much to have Robin Hood roaming through her castle as if he owned the damn place._

_Three long months so she could recognize that the burning sensation that seemed to consume her whole just by seeing him or even listening to him, wasn't necessarily annoyance._

_It wasn't… at least not entirely. It was actually something even more basic, in a way simpler and way more primitive than that, and it was of course, lust._

_Pure and apparently very unadulterated lust._

_If she was to be honest, the Queen would have to admit that she easily confused one thing with the other because it has been such a long time since she felt anything remotely close to carnal desire, that she didn't really see it. When she started to feel that low simmering sensation growing in the pit of her stomach and then extending to her chest with his mere presence, she took it was something more familiar to her._

_Anger._

_Anger because this thief actually had it easy when it came to rubbing her the wrong way so at first, she thought she simply couldn't stand his insolence or even that ridiculous smirk he would flash her way every time he was able to fire back against her cutting remarks._

_She basically misunderstood it all. With everything that was happening, she assumed that deep inside she resented how he witnessed her in one of the most vulnerable moments of her recent history because yes, much to her shame, the man had been there when she almost threw the towel after losing Henry._

_What could she say? When they first arrived to the Enchanted Forest, she had been submerged deep in her sorrow so she pretty much acted without thinking, wanting to end her agony without considering the consequences and as a result, this stranger ended up seeing her at her lowest._

_She let him see her being weak and she didn't like that. She automatically took her shame and displeasure, wrapped it up real nice the only way she knew how to, and then she simply took it out on him._

_Actually, she did more than that as she began acting in full_ _Evil Queen_ _mode in his presence._

_She would look his way as if he was nothing more than dirt under her shoe, she more than once let him know how displeased she felt about him and his men staying at her castle, and she wouldn't lose the chance of rolling her eyes and snarl her lips the moment he would enter a room._

_It was in a way childish but she didn't care. Her animosity actually became so bad and so real, that even the most minimal detail about him bothered her. From the way his hair would sometimes fall limp over his forehead, how his smooth voice drilled into her brain and yes, it definitely annoyed her to infinity and beyond the way he couldn't keep his mouth closed._

_It was as if he never learned to breathe through his nose and would instead do it through his always parted lips and yes, only to look at him made her want to smack his mouth shut._

_That particular trait of him was what made her realize that she actually wanted to kiss him…_

_Yes, she knew it was ridiculous but it was how it was. One day she was reunited with the Charmings, talking strategy to defeat the Wicked Witch and there he was, sitting in the chair opposite to her as if he belonged among them all and God, his mere presence was enough to make her blood boil._

_She had been bothered by him and she was sure she was irradiating huge waves of heat with the intensity of her anger. Only that it wasn't that, it was not anger._

_Yes, her chest was tight, her face flushed and her eyes were staring daggers at him and that damned mouth as we went on and on talking gibberish; but it wasn't because she was mad. Unfortunately, she only realized what it really was when she caught herself wanting to go to him, grab him by that stupid haircut and just kiss his mouth shut._

_It shocked her; realizing that she, the Queen, could succumb so low as to actually want after a simple and very annoying thief. It shook her so bad it even made her push back from the table in such a forceful way that her chair dragged over the floor, making a deafening screeching sound that made everyone automatically look her way._

_He did too, obviously, and as soon as he fixed those blues of his on her own eyes and arched an eyebrow as if expecting her to dive into one of her infamous tirades against him, she freaked out._

_Now… as baffling as that had been for her, the days that followed after that were even more confusing. She had been in a state of brutal denial because really, how could her treacherous libido betray her like that?_

_But as much as she didn't want to feel it, this… lecherous thing was there and the more she saw him, the stronger it grew._

_Ignoring it was futile, reacting in anger counterproductive, so with time, she simply learned to accept it. It wasn't so bad, after all, she was an adult and she simply had a need that if fulfilled, it could actually make her mind clear and her body relax so she just… let it be._

_She tried to change her tune and act a bit nicer with him after that, and sometimes, when she was ego tripping, she was even flirty. But it was as if all her attempts to appeal to his good senses would fly way pass his head as he just never noticed her._

_He would just look at her funny whenever she tried anything so at the end, she just stopped treating him at all._

_It was simple, she didn't dwell well with rejection and it was more than obvious that the man infamously known for stealing from the rich and giving to the poor was not interested in mingling with the Evil Queen, a woman that apart from her reputation, had done nothing more than undermine him and look at him over her shoulder._

_But that day, destiny had other plans for her and somehow, it made it be so that he ended up reaching for her hand and well, she was entranced by it… completely taken aback by the weird feeling taking residence in the pit of her stomach as he did something so mundane, in a way boring and catastrophically plain._

_It was the kind of thing Snow freaking White would enjoy doing with her Prince Charming and yet there she was, the Queen… the Evil Queen feeling her entire face burning just by the simple manner in which his hand was tightly clamped over hers._

_She didn't know what to say; it had been years, long years since she last held hands with another being and it had probably been Henry's when he was younger, as his little hand would always reach for hers whenever they would take a walk outside._

_That was as far as her memory would go, because she couldn't even remember doing it with Daniel and she sure as hell never did it with King or even the Graham._

_But now there she was; letting Robin Hood do it and the whole thing was completely disarming all of what she was._

_It just felt… it was different than how she remembered it with her son, the sensation, the turmoil of emotions… and well, she guessed it had to feel different because Robin, with the strong outline of his jaw and broad shoulders, was far from being a boy of seven like Henry had been._

_There was no way to compare one with the other, especially since the nature of her interest towards them were as far from each other as the moon was with the sun._

_Sure, it wasn't like he was holding her hand in that vanilla way most people did. No, it was not couple-ish, as their fingers were not laced together, they were not happily walking side by side under the moonlight and no, they were not exactly stealing lovely glances at each other…_

_He was more like dragging her along, his fingers tight around her own digits as he urged her to move._

_Still, she was in awe by the simple complexity of such a hold, astounded by the warmth emanating from him being absorbed into her own palm as they tried to evade the punishing rain that was falling over them._

_They didn't have much luck though, because it was as if the skies opened up to send a torrential rain to pour upon them and no matter how fast they walked and how hard he would pull, the rain would simply follow them._

_By the time they found a shelter to escape it, she was already drenched to the bone. Her blouse sticking to her chest, her socks drowning into the water pooling inside her boots and her hair all plastered against her face and neck._

_It was an annoying thing, probably far from complimentary on her appearances; but when he finally let go of her hand and she was able to lift her eyes to him, she was pleased to find he was equally drenched._

_He looked good though…_

_"Bloody hell." He complained, running his fingers through his hair and then shaking the water off his hands._

_Now, Regina didn't want to be that kind of woman, but he just looked so good there that she just blatantly stared at him._

_He looked worth swooning for… all wet, eyes shining bright and those damn dimples in full display as he grimaced due the circumstances._

_He wasn't paying much attention to her, he never was… but like always, she was definitely putting some in him. Especially on the way he was sliding his coat down his arms and the outline of his always covered body finally showed._

_Biting into her lips and trying to get a hold of the growing attraction she had been harboring towards the thief for the last several weeks, the Queen reached for her hair and unpinned it, letting it fall lose down her shoulders._

_It probably looked a mess so she ran her fingers through it and fixed it as best as she could, all that without taking her eyes from his._

_She did that for a while, look at him, all until he was looking at her too. Actually, more than just staring at her, he was pinning her in place with the full intensity of his piercing blue eyes and she wondered…_

_Was he thinking the same thing she was thinking? Did he feel remotely attracted to her as she was for some reason attracted to him?_

_She didn't think so… as that was not the impression she had gathered out of him. But then again, the way he was now looking at her was too intense._

_It made her skin burn and her stomach tighten._

_"Well…" He began to say, his eyes still digging. "That was sure something."_

_Screw it. Blinking and not able to hold it, Regina walked to him and if he was going to add something more to that, she shut him off by rising on the tip of her boots to press her mouth to his._

_She just lingered for one, two and then three seconds, she even did a mental countdown, and when he did nothing, not push her off and definitely not kiss her back, she pulled back and looked at him in the eye._

_He looked a little confused so she sighed, licking her lips. She wanted to say something… hell, she wanted him to say something, but instead he just stared at her, his eyes dancing over her face as his mouth remained open in that way that still annoyed her so much._

_"What was that?"_

_Swallowing on dry and still too stunned by her actions to be mortified, Regina frowned. "I think I just kissed you."_

_Robin licked his own lips, his tongue slowly running over the same spot she just kissed. "I figured that much. I think what I meant was why?"_

_Regina shrugged, not really knowing what prompted her to kiss him out of the blue; but apparently satisfied by her response, he grabbed the back of her head and pulled her to him, his mouth capturing hers into another kiss._

_Closing her eyes into the contact, Regina pressed her hands to his shoulders, her lips parting in a silent invitation for him to deepen the kiss._

_He did, and the moment his tongue touched hers, she felt her entire body vibrate._

_It was a surge getting into her and it almost took her breath away, making her arms circle his neck as she pressed closer to him._

_That way, his tongue started to move with hers, the two getting tangled and sliding hotly against each other until she was sure she was going to auto-combust._

_It was insane, he was just kissing her and she was already tingling all over. She wanted more…_

_As if he just read her thoughts, Robin slid his hands to her waist, then, a bit lower so they brushed over her ass and then he lifted her, holding her up against him just enough to make her sit over a small table._

_She had seen it, when they first walked in, taking notice of how dusty it was but given the circumstances, she was going to let it pass._

_Instead of worrying about that, she made room for him between her legs and kept kissing him, one hand burying in his damp hair and the other one set on his side._

_As for him, he kissed her long and deep, his hands settling on her hips so that he could drag her closer until she was flushed against him, her groin making contact with the stiffness inside his pants._

_Feeling overwhelmed by the sudden shiver that ran down her spine, Regina moaned against his mouth; she was almost frantic as her hands started to touch all of him that she could._

_"Regina," He managed to say in a warning between kisses; it was as if he was trying for one last vestige of coherency to hit him before he completely fell off the edge._

_Wanting to drag him along, she reached for the bottom of his shirt and slid her hands underneath it, her fingers running up his stomach and over his sides. "Shh, don't talk."_

_That apparently did it, because pressing her even harder against him, he buried his nose into her hair and groaned low in his throat._

_Searching for his mouth, Regina kissed him again, her tongue exploring at will as his own hands were put to good use. He slid them over her breast, grabbing her over her blouse before moving down to her hips again._

_Grinding against him, she gasped, throwing her head back so that he could use his mouth on her skin, kissing and nibbling from her collar bone to the spot where her pulse was beating erratically for him._

_She moaned. She could feel how hard he was and wanting to get more of that, she rotated her hips against him. S_ _ensing her eagerness, he pushed harder. "That feels good," She confessed, desperation hitting her full force._

_"Yeah?"_

_She hummed, too far gone, and then as he rubbed himself against her, she was unable to help it._

_She wanted to moan and gasp and tell him how bad she wanted more; but she held on, gathering all her strength so he wouldn't notice how out of control she really was._

_"Alright." He breathed out, breaking from the kiss and pressing his forehead to hers. "I think this is getting a bit out of hand."_

_No shit… she wanted to say, as she was the one whose underwear were soaked._

_But before she could even reply, he took a few steps back, his darkened eyes set on hers and his mouth pouting a little._

_He wanted her, he could see it in his eyes and yes, in the bulge trapped in his pants. But he was also struggling to understand this thing that happened all of a sudden and she was sure that if she pushed, he was going to bolt._

_"Yeah…" She cleared her throat, her eyes, feeling too wide in her face fixed on his. "Maybe we should go back."_

_He nodded, then he chuckled nervously. "Alright… I'll just… it stopped raining so I'll get the horse."_

_"Okay."_

_He ran a hand down his face and then, sending a last glance her way, he was out…_

_~•~•~•~_

All hell had broken loose.

Or at least that was David's apparent take on whatever it was that was happening in town. He kept babbling on it, talking in riddles about people turning into flying monkeys and creating havoc all over the place while Regina did nothing more than to sit and pretend to be listening.

She tried at first, to put attention… she really did; but the more he talked, the more her thoughts would start to drift from the subject being discussed so that they could dwell on other pressing matters.

Like her pregnancy and the man who apparently now wanted to take responsibility for her unborn child.

There was a lot to think there, which was annoying the crap out of her because she honestly believed that the whole problem had been solved the previous night when she decided that no matter what happened, that she was going to take care of the child on her own.

No father, no family to rely on and no second thoughts. It was supposed to be just her, like she did with Henry and that this… _man_ came out of the blue to change her plans was disconcerting her in all possible manners.

She wanted to be mad, and maybe she was. After all, the memory of how he laughed in her face when she told him about the possibility of him being the father was too raw in her mind for her to put aside.

But at the same time, she had to admit that this way in which he came to her, his mouth full with some life altering promises, kind of made her both soften and be wary at the same time.

It was the last thing she expected out of him, and she honestly didn't know what to make of the offer.

Part of her wanted to scream a big hell no in his face and send him away with the tail between his legs. He was nothing but a stranger after all, a very imprudent one and she didn't want to share something so hers as it was her own flesh and blood with him. But then again, there was a part of her, a small one, that was begging her to consider. The baby could be his as well, so it wouldn't be much like sharing, but just recognizing his right as a father.

Yes, maybe she was the one carrying the child, but there was a big chance that he has been the one to… well, put said life in her.

 _God_ , she thought as she closed her eyes and smoothed the worry in her forehead with the tip of her fingers, because this thing that she got herself into was really a damn mess.

What the hell had she been thinking during that damn missing year?

"So these flying monkeys, how many are there?"

Taken out of her thoughts by the sound of Robin's voice drilling into her brain, Regina pressed her knuckles hard against her lips as she intently stared out the window of David's car.

"I would say there are at least two, more or less. Man, you should have seen it."

Regina's lips curled because well, they have been going back and forth with the news, those two, chumming and acting as if they have known each other for years and for some reason that annoyed her.

It was just that… ugh, she couldn't believe that she may be having a child with David's new BFF!

"We were able to grab one. But just because Sneezy turned into it out of nowhere."

"Turned? He literally turned into a flying monkey in front of you?"

"He did, the whole thing was crazy. He was shaking and kind of convulsing and then it just happened. He flew away afterwards so we couldn't get a hold of him. But there had been more of these creatures roaming around… and people disappearing."

"You think the ones that disappeared turned as well?"

"I do. I mean, what other explanation there is?"

"Did Grumpy turn into one of those creatures?" Regina asked, her voice flat and bored while her eyes opened.

Taking his attention off the road for a second so that he could look at her, David frowned. "Leroy? No..."

Clicking her tongue, her eyes rolled. "Hmm, bummer."

"You know, people are edgy about this happening on top of the whole missing year, so it may be wise if you keep those comments to yourself, Regina."

Scoffing, the brunette turned her face to the man driving while feeling ridiculously aware of Robin staring at her from the backseat. "Why, do people think I did this?"

He cringed at the question. "Well… I think it was mentioned as a possibility by some."

Of course, she thought. Because nobody in Storybrooke would ever believe she was not to blame for every single thing that went wrong.

Flying monkeys included.

Groaning, she pushed back into her seat. "If this would have been me, the first one I would have turned was that munchkin… Grumpy."

"You just… don't say it in front of people."

Yeah, whatever. "So why did you go and picked me up is this was going to be pegged on me?"

 _"_ Because if there's anyone that can figure out what's making people turn into this, it's you. The fact that you have magic was also an important factor."

"Do you think they can be turned back, these creatures?"

"We certainly hope so. But meanwhile, they are acting all wild so we need to capture them first. I heard you are one hell of a shot so you can come in handy. Snow and Ruby are gathering some tranquilizers to shoot at them, care to help with that?"

Robin hissed, Regina heard him loud and clear. "I would love to, but I'm afraid my hand is a little banged up and my aim could turn out to be a bit off. If these monkeys are friends of yours under some kind of spell, I wouldn't want to end up hurting them more."

"What happened, to your hand?"

Taking in a deep breath and going back to looking out through the window, Regina tried to ignore the subject now being discussed.

"Had a little accident… with a door closing on my hand."

"Ouch, that's… inconvenient."

"I know. It was unexpected too. One would think it was on purpose."

"It wasn't." Regina finally hissed because God, why was he so annoying? Just listening to him and that accent made her want to… bang a door against him again, but on his head this time.

"You hurt his hand?"

Oh yeah, just what she needed, Prince Charming nosing into her business as well.

"It was an accident." And it really was. She didn't mean to hurt him. It just all happened so fast that she didn't have time to react properly.

"Yeah, it was indeed one, as I should have definitely pulled out."

Letting out a humorless chuckle, Regina, lifted her chin and looked at him through the rearview mirror. He was looking back at her… his eyes ridiculously blue in the sunlight digging into her own stare. "Yeah, you definitely should have. Would have saved us both a lot of trouble just by doing something so basic as pulling out on time."

The thief's brows furrowed little and his eyes narrowed, but then he apparently caught on the double meaning of what she really meant and he scoffed, his tongue visibly pushing hard against the inside of his cheek.

He did that without letting go of his stare, the insolent asshole.

"Well… maybe you didn't give me the chance to do it. Maybe you didn't want me to."

Scrunching her nose, Regina sent him an icy-cold stare. "Not a chance, thief… probably wouldn't have happened if you didn't I don't know, forced yourself in."

With that, she looked away, the scowl on her face never easing off.

"Force myself, are you serious?" He said, a bit too loud for her taste and in response, she lifted a hand as if to make him shut up. He didn't. "You really think that?"

"I don't know what to think, actually."

David cleared his throat, probably sensing there was something going on between Robin and her but not saying a word. Regina was glad, because if it would have been Snow, she would be all over the place trying to appease things.

Pursing her lips, she sent a quick glance at the man sitting in the back. He was all serious now, his jaw visibly clenched as he stared out the window.

He looked upset, and because of that, Regina kind of regretted what she implied…

"Okay so here we are." David said pulling over and getting out of the car. Regina followed his example, folding her arms to her chest as Robin walked around the car, staying by the rear of it with his back to them. "I'll go see if there's something new going on."

David walked into the Sheriff's station, probably expecting them both to follow him. Regina was going to, she even started to walk after him, but then hit by something she almost recognized as regret, she turned on her heels and walked to Robin.

"Let me see it, the hand." More than a request, in came out like an order. She was aware of that, but she didn't think she would have been able to do it any other way.

"Why?" He asked, the expression of his face all stern.

Annoyed by how hard he was making things, her eyes rolled. "Just let me see it."

Pursing his lips, he lifted the injured hand and yeah, it looked pretty banged up and swollen. It made her cringe a little, but to make it better on her conscience, she used magic to heal it.

"There, so you can stop whining now."

With that said, the brunette woman turned around and started to walk away. Before she could go too far, he called her.

"I don't… really remember what happened, but I can assure you I would never force myself on you or anyone for that matter."

Regina turned her face his way, her eyes lowering a little as she spoke. "It's alright, I don't really think you did." She wouldn't have let it happen, as she was not the defenseless girl she has been long ago.

If anyone would even dare to do it now, they would definitely wouldn't live to see another day.

"Then why say it?"

Sighing, her mouth screwed left and then right. "I talk a lot of smack when I get upset." She admitted as she met his stare. She meant to stop there, to let that be her apology. But some reason, she kept talking. "And this whole thing… not knowing what happened or what's going on is making me feel upset, and confused…."

He walked to her, stopping just when he was close enough to reach for her hands. He took them between his, and for some reason, all she could do was stare at the way his much larger hands engulfed hers with their warmth.

"I told you, you are not going to be alone in this so I don't know, maybe you could stop seeing me as an enemy and more like an ally, yeah?"

Not knowing what to say, Regina bit on her lips and blinked a few times. For some reason, his eyes on her and the touch of his hands was making her tingle all over… it was like…

"Regina."

The sound of that voice made the pregnant woman gasp and she suddenly turned away from Robin, her eyes wide and wild automatically searching for her.

She found her, standing by the entrance of the station with what appeared to be a scowl on her face and her chin tilted up in defiance.

It made her heart skip a beat because where there was Emma, there should be Henry and she couldn't see him, she couldn't see her son…

"Where is he… where's Henry?" Her voice broke a little, but she didn't care.

"Here's alright, but you and I, oh boy, we need to talk…"

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

There was nothing short of bizarre about all of the things Robin Hood has been experiencing ever since he woke up in that strange land called Storybrooke.

Hell, if he could, he would straight up call his time there as being the strangest thing he had ever lived, and that was saying a lot considering he had traveled to some pretty strange lands before and sure, when he had fended off some dangerous sorceress in his so many adventures.

He had also spent a good part of the last few years of his life clearing what was left of the Enchanted Forest out of trolls and even before that, he had dwelled into some murky waters. Like when he had to use magic to trick the Dark One into not finding him, or the time he had seen a shadow try to steal his boy into another realm. So yes, he could say he had lived too many a weird experience before.

But this, whatever it was that was going on, went from strange to plain bizarre in a matter of nothing. Because it was not only having an entire year worth of memories wiped out from his mind now, or even the possibility of having a love child with a woman he couldn't even remember meeting before, but it was also about having flying monkeys roaming all around town and creating havoc.

IMonkeys that flied and turned people into their simian army. The whole thing was just unheard of and definitely, more bizarre than what he could wrap his mind around.

"So these flying monkeys, how many are there?" Robin asked as he absentmindedly rubbed some of the tiredness off his eyes.

Because yes, after spending the entire night between standing guard at camp and then trying to digest the news the Queen dropped on him, the former thief got no sleep whatsoever and in protest, he could feel his eyes burning into their sockets.

They wanted to close off on him, to betray his curiosity and just go to sleep in the comforts of the strange carriage he sat upon.

Not that he would give into the need of dozing off, no… as this new turn of events required all of his attention.

"I would say there are at least two, more or less. Man, you should have seen it. We were able to grab one, but just because Sneezy turned into it out of nowhere."

Robin scoffed, half interested and half horrified about what he just heard out of David's own mouth.

"Turned? He literally turned into a flying monkey in front of you?"

Widening his eyes as he kept his hands wrapped around the weird looking rein of the wheeled carriage, Snow White's Prince sent a quick look at him.

"He did, the whole thing was crazy. He was shaking and kind of convulsing and then it just happened. He flew away afterwards so we couldn't get a hold of him. But there has been more of these creatures roaming around… and people disappearing."

Nodding and still trying to make sense out of the events, Robin chewed compulsively into the inside of his cheek.

"You think the ones that disappeared turned as well?"

"I do, I mean what other explanation there is?"

"Did Grumpy turn into one of those creatures?" Interrupting their conversation with a severe tone that edged into harshness, the Queen spoke for the first time since they embarked into their journey, and unable to help it, Robin's eyes went immediately to her.

He couldn't see all of her because he was sitting in the backseat and she was upfront, but from his vantage point, he got at least a nice view of her profile. Of the outline of her jaw, the elegant length of her neck and how her hair was starting to escape from that place behind her ear she tried to restrict it in earlier on.

He could also see the way she was pouting her lips into a manner that screamed haughtiness, but that he believed was more like impatience, maybe annoyance.

"Leroy? No…" David said, eyeing her briefly.

Clicking her tongue, her eyes rolled Imprudently. "Hmm, bummer."

That improper comment made Robin chuckle because the Queen was apparently someone who didn't know how to keep her thoughts to herself. He could relate on that one, and for some reason that kind of amused him.

What could he say? It was just that that this woman he had heard so much about didn't look evil. Perhaps a bit bold and way too sassy, but not necessarily evil… at least taking out of the picture his still throbbing hand.

But apart from that, it was an interesting thing to realize, and that thought made him wonder if him seeing this part of her was what made them get close enough as to procreate in the Enchanted Forest… of course, if the baby was indeed his.

But if it was, he still was having a bit of a hard time imagining how a woman like her, a Queen, ended up involved with a bloke like him, with a thief…

"You know, people are edgy about this happening on top of the whole missing year, so it may be wise if you keep those comments to yourself, Regina."

Scoffing, the pretty brunette turned her face to the man driving. Robin just watched, his eyes unable to look anywhere else.

"Why, do people think I did this?" Her tone was low, leveled, but there was a pinch of annoyance there.

David cringed at the question, and Robin immediately knew the answer.

He had heard it himself. Around camp, on his trips into town… and yes, half of the people there pinned her as the culprit of all that was happening.

"Well… I think it was mentioned as a possibility by some."

Groaning, the woman pushed back into her seat. "If this would have been me, the first one I would have turned was that munchkin… Grumpy."

No, Regina definitely didn't know how to keep things to herself.

"Yeah, you just… don't say it in front of people."

For a few seconds, she said nothing, but then with a bit of impetus, she turned back to David.

"So why did you go and picked me up is this was going to be pegged on me?"

"Because if there's anyone that can figure out what's making people turn into this, it's you. The fact that you have magic was also an important factor."

Nosing into the conversation, Robin cleared his throat.

"Do you think they can be turned back, these creatures?"

"We certainly hope so. But meanwhile, they are acting all wild so we need to capture them first. I heard you are one hell of a shot so you can come in handy. Snow and Ruby are gathering some tranquilizers to shoot at them, care to help with that?"

Hissing at the man's invitation into the action, Robin looked at his right swollen hand. He has been trying to ignore it, but the truth was that it was bothering him.

"I would love to, but I'm afraid my hand is a little banged up and my aim could turn out to be a bit off. If these monkeys are friends of yours under some kind of spell, I wouldn't want to end up hurting them more."

"What happened, to your hand?"

"Had a little accident… with a door closing on my hand." He shifted his eyes towards Regina's direction, trying to see if he could get a reaction out of her.

He got nothing, she was now looking out the window, so the only thing he could see was the back of her head.

"Ouch, that's… inconvenient."

"I know. It was unexpected too. One would think it was on purpose."

"It wasn't." Regina finally hissed and by her tone, he could say she was pissed.

It hadn't been his intention, not necessarily but well, she did mess up his good hand.

"You hurt his hand?" David asked a bit curtly and if anything, Regina became even more tense.

He saw it in the way her jaw clenched and in how she straightened her posture.

"It was an accident." She replied in an angry hiss.

Trying to make the situation lower a bit in intensity, as rubbing the woman the wrong way was far from what he wanted, Robin tried to play it cool.

"Yeah, it was indeed one, as I should have definitely pulled out." And he would have done it, if only he imagined how it was all going to end.

Letting out a humorless chuckle, Regina, lifted her chin and looked at him through the mirror hanging between the two front seats. He looked back at her, returning her icy-cold stare with a warm one of his own.

"Yeah, you definitely should have. Would have saved us both a lot of trouble just by doing something so basic as pulling out on time."

Frowning and his eyes narrowing into slits, the infamous archer tilted his head a little to the left. He was about to say that the only trouble had been his, and he had a banged up hand to prove it. But before he could even open his mouth, his mind cleared up and he understood what she meant.

She was not talking about the accident with the door. No… she was talking about that moment lost into their memories where he… well, apparently got her pregnant.

And the part with him not pulling out on time meant exactly that.

Scoffing and feeling his ears burn with the woman's boldness, Robin used his tongue to push hard against the inside of his cheek. He did it without letting his eyes drop from her intense glance.

Now, imagining how that pregnancy might have occurred was something he had refused to entertain, but he couldn't lie, it was something that intrigued him very much…

What could he say? The Queen was very easy on the eyes and as righteous as he always tried to be, he was a man like any other and the idea that at some moment he has been able to get intimate with her was a very interesting concept.

But… as appealing as it sounded, the whole thing was also a little hard to grasp.

He doubted he would ever try to initiate any kind of intimate encounter with a woman like her if it wasn't because she showed some interest first. Not because he was a wimp or because there was a lack of interest from his part, but because her attitude wasn't exactly a welcoming thing and he knew his limits.

Meaning, that if he indeed bedded her, if was because she started the whole thing. That he continued it? Probably, and very willingly, he was sure, but blaming him for the whole thing was a tad ridiculous in his eyes.

"Well… maybe you didn't give me the chance to do it. Maybe you didn't want me to."

Scrunching her nose, Regina narrowed her eyes. "Not a chance, thief… probably wouldn't have happened if you didn't I don't know, forced yourself in."

With that said, she looked away, the scowl on her face never easing off. For a long second, Robin froze, his entire blood turning to ice and all the muscles of his body tensing.

Was she implying that he forced himself on her? Was she really saying that?

"Force myself, are you serious?" He asked, feeling upset. Because no, he couldn't remember a bloody thing of what happened, but he knew himself well enough to know he would never do such a thing.

Fuck, he doubted he has been the one who tried to enamor a woman who was way out of his league in the first place, so that she was insinuating he forced his way on her was outrageous.

He had a code of honor and he lived by it, so just the thought that she believed he did such a horrible thing made him sick to his stomach.

Not that she apparently cared a bit, because instead of answering his question, what she did was lift a hand and wave him off.

"You really think that?" He pressed on.

"I don't know what to think, actually."

Robin didn't know what to say from then on either. He just focused on the fact that the turmoil of emotions raging in the pit of his stomach was bad enough to make him forget about his injured hand and the whole monkey business.

"Okay, so here we are." David said pulling over and getting out of the so called car. Regina climbed out as well, so following their example, he slid out.

He remained by the back of the carriage though, wondering if it was better if he just walked back to camp. With his hand like it was and his mind so troubled, he was of no good use there.

He also didn't want to make Regina uncomfortable, because if she really believed he was the kind of man who forced his way onto women, he doubted she wanted to have anything to do with him.

He could try to change her mind and make her see that he was incapable of doing that, but he was so tired and so upset that he didn't think he would make a good case on his defense anyway…

"Let me see it, the hand."

Taken out of his trance by the harsh tone of her voice, Robin's eyes move to her.

She was standing close to him now, but she was evading looking directly at him.

"Why?" He asked, the expression of his face all stern.

Her eyes rolled in exasperation, as if just talking to him irked the hell out of her. "Just let me see it."

Pursing his lips, he lifted the injured hand and showed it to her. She inspected it, her brown eyes moving along. Then, as if it was nothing, she lifted her own hand to his.

It was quick, with a flicker of her wrist, a tickling sensation ran from his fingers to his own wrist and then the pain disappeared.

Magic, he knew at once. The kind he wouldn't have believed someone who people called the Evil Queen had.

"There, so you can stop whining now."

With that said, the brunette woman turned around and started to walk away. Before she could go too far, he gave into an impulse and tried to advocate on his own behalf.

"I don't really remember what happened, but I can assure you I would never force myself on you or anyone for that matter."

Regina turned her face his way, her eyes lowering a little as she spoke. "It's alright, I don't really think you did."

He almost gasped, his mind unable to grasp why she would imply something so horrible if she really didn't believe it.

"Then why say it?"

The woman sighed, shrugging. Her eyes set on an undefined spot behind him. "I talk a lot of smack when I get upset." She stopped there, as if needing to think her words very carefully. "And this whole thing... not knowing what happened or what's going on is making me feel upset, and confused…."

That did it for Robin, a simple glimpse of the woman being vulnerable to make him forget about how upset she made him feel earlier on.

That was his curse, apart from talking when he knew he shouldn't, being so bloody soft.

That was how he ended up walking to her until he was close enough to reach for her hands. He took them between his, another wild impulse that was probably way out of line. But because she didn't protest it nor did she try to pull away from the touch, he just held them.

"I told you, you are not going to be alone in this so I don't know, maybe you could stop seeing me as an enemy and more like an ally, yeah?"

After the peace offering he was putting on her, Regina was looking at him way too intently. Her eyes wide, as if she wasn't sure if he was telling her the true and for some reason, he felt trapped into the depths of that look.

He could believe it right then, not only that the baby she was carrying was his, but also that he has cared for her deeply, enough to give her a ring that meant so much for him.

"Regina."

With the sound of her name being called, the spell was broken and all of a sudden, Regina was turning away from him, her hands slipping away as she looked for the source of the voice.

Robin looked too, taking notice of a blonde woman that didn't look too amicable staring daggers at Regina.

An enemy of hers, he thought at first, and the two were going to tear each other apart right then and there. But then Regina took one, two steps in the woman's direction before halting dry on her tracks.

"Where is he… where's Henry?" Regina asked, her voice cracking a little, thing that made Robin decide he didn't like the blonde.

"Here's alright, but you and I, oh boy, we need to talk…"

"Talk." The Queen said with a dry chuckle. "I'm not talking about anything with you until you tell me where is my son."

Ah, the infamous son. He had heard about this boy who was apparently lost to the Queen already, but most of the things he heard were from Little John and well, everyone that knew the man would be aware that all of the things he passed as gossip had to be taken with a grain of salt.

"You are not in a position to bargain, Regina. You either talk in good terms, or I make you talk in bad terms."

"Emma…" Snow White started to say, but before she could go on, Regina laughed.

"Are you threatening me?" The Queen's back straightened and her chin lifted defiantly, but Robin's keen eye saw it was a façade.

Yes, her tone was imposing and secure, but he could also see the way her nails were digging into the palm of her hands and that spoke volumes of her control starting to slip away.

"I'm not. I just want to talk, maybe figure out what is going on here. You know, with this new curse, the memory loss and the monkeys. We'll clear that out, and then we can talk about Henry."

"Are you serious? I had nothing to do with this and you very well know it, so don't you dare put my son as a condition to prove your less than stellar detective skills. "

There, another sign that her control was cracking, as she obviously blurted that out in anger. This Emma also noticed, and she took a step back, her hand lifting as a way to calm the Queen down.

"I'm not putting him as a condition, okay… but I do need to know it's safe for him to be here. You understand that?"

Regina said nothing.

"So can you prove you didn't cast this new curse? Or that you have nothing to do with these flying monkeys?"

Lifting her hands and then dropping them to her sides, Regina scoffed. "I already gave the thing I love the most to send him away into safety, so what else was there for me to create a new curse and with what purpose? As for the monkeys? Do I look like the Wicked Witch of West or do you have the impression we are in OZ?"

At the mention of the witch and that strange land he once visited, Robin lifted his chin and narrowed his eyes.

"What would I know? It wouldn't be the weirdest thing you have ever done." The blonde woman said.

"What if it's her, what if she's here?" Snow White asked and Emma looked at her. "I mean we all know she controls these kind of creatures, right?"

"You think the Wicked Witch is in Storybrooke?"

"Okay, what did you do to her, Regina?" David asked from his place at his wife's side.

Doing a double take, Regina snorted. "Me? Nothing, never met her before?"

"Shocking."

"Whatever, can we talk about Henry now?"

Scrunching her nose, Emma blew out a breath. "He… well, he kind of… still doesn't remember; he's stuck with the memories you gave him."

"But you do remember." Regina mentioned, the anger emanating out of her a few minutes ago dissipating and turning into something more calmed, maybe even defeated.

Emma went to blurt out a story about a pirate giving her a potion to make her remember and how there has been just enough for her to take. There was also something about a flying monkey attacking her in a place called New York and how she packed her things to go and find her family afterwards. But truth be told, Robin didn't put much attention as he had been spaced out thinking about that witch they were talking about.

It was only when the conversation was apparently over and Regina was swirling on her heels to walk away, that Robin broke out of his thoughts.

He did it just to follow her, as she looked extremely upset.

"Hey, are you alright?"

For more than a few seconds, Regina just kept walking, ignoring him, but at some point as he followed her, she turned angrily around and lifted a finger to him.

"Would you stop following me?"

Lifting his hands in a clear indication that he meant no harm, Robin licked his lips. "I just want to make sure you're alright."

She blinked, and he was so sure that she was going to tell him off, to send him straight to hell that he even began to cringe.

But she didn't do such a thing and instead, she blew out a breath. "I just found out my son doesn't even remember who I am so no, I am not alright."

Once again, her brown eyes, softer when the sun shone into them, fixed into his own stare and he was entranced.

"And as if that wasn't enough, I have an entire town pointing this whole mess on me and because of that, I'm not even allowed to get close to him. I need to fix that, and I need to do it now."

"And may I ask how you will do that?"

Shrugging, Regina flashed him a sad smile. "By finding this witch, I guess."

That was exactly what Robin has been wanting to hear, so he smiled. "Well, apparently, today is your lucky day because I happen to know this Wicked Witch."

Arching an eyebrow and looking a bit incredulous, Regina hummed. "Really? And how does a thief ends up getting acquainted with the Wicked Witch?"

"Easy, she tried to kill me when she found out I stole something from her. Fortunately, I'm quick on my feet and lived to tell the tale. Anyway, since I know this foe already, that makes me the ideal person to help you here."

Surprising him a little, The Queen's lips curved into something that resembled a smile. "I don't remember asking for help."

"You didn't, but that doesn't mean you won't need it. I mean, I know how she looks."

"Let me guess, green skin and pointy hat?"

"Oh, so you've met her too?" He frowned, as he was sure she said she never met the sorcerer.

"Well, I saw the movie."

Not quite getting what she meant but with the glint of her eyes making him smirk, Robin fixed his eyes on her face.

"I beg your pardon?"

Sucking in a breath and closing her eyes for a second, Regina shook her head. "Why are you doing all of this? You know, helping me? Offering to father a child you are not even sure it's yours? I mean… you don't even know me. For all you know, I'm the Evil Queen and you are… Robin freaking Hood. Don't you think it's odd that a guy like you, who clearly belongs among the heroes' column ended up possibly fathering a child with… well, _me_?"

Shifting the weight of his body onto his left foot, Robin scratched the underside of his jaw. "Well, I'm just a few hours into the news so I haven't really sat to think about the pesky details, but I think it's obvious how this came to be." He said, pointing at her and then at him.

"You think?"

"Yeah, I mean… this face, you couldn't resist it."

Regina blinked, apparently not too amused at his lame attempt to humor her.

"I mean, it had to be the face, as it was obviously not my sense of humor. So… as for the question… you are right, I don't know you. But I do know myself and I know that I would never give this ring to someone I didn't care for, and that's enough for me to step in and do what is right."

As he said that, he lifted his hand to show the ring he still hand on his pinky.

"The inscription I apparently made into this also screams to me to go with this. R&R."

"It is kind of cheesy." She said and this time, there was a genuine smile on her face.

It was silly, but it made his own grin grow wider, and with the intention to show the inscription better, he adjusted his sleeves and turned the ring in such a way that the letters were pointed in her direction.

"What can I say? I am kind of cheesy." He said that with his eyes glued to how stunning she looked when she smiled.

But before he could drink fully into the image, her smile died and her eyes darkened. First in confusion and then in what looked like horror.

"Is everything alright?" He asked in concern when she took one and then two steps away from him.

Then, without saying a word, she turned around and started to walk away.

"Regina-"

"I don't need any help, so don't follow me."

Her tone was cutting and way too cold, and it made Robin halt on his tracks. He wasn't sure what happened, or how he suddenly felt like he walked ten thousand steps back when he was barely starting to walk into getting along with her.

"Shit…" He said, watching her quicken her steps before disappearing into a cloud of purple smoke.

Whatever happened to make her react like that, he was sure that it screwed up the little chance he had on getting into her good side and that was not only disappointing, but in a way, it felt devastating…

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

_Ever since the Queen walked into the grand dining room, her chin tilted up and her presence filling everything that surrounded her with that mysterious aura that always seemed to follow her, Robin has been closely observing her._

_His gaze was unwavering, steady… because as it happened, his cobalt blue eyes were trained in the arts of her and just by sensing her nearby, they automatically darted to her… watching her every move, scrutinizing even the most mundane details of her mannerisms and tearing into pieces each and every one of her actions._

_He had been basically onto her as a predator watching over its prey, lingering around and keeping all of his senses on alert as a way to get something, anything out of her that would help him understand what the bloody hell happened between them in that shed outside her castle._

_Sure, he technically knew what happened, how could he not when the memory of it was too embedded into his brain to doubt? She kissed him, and even though for a moment he had been too gobsmacked to react properly, at the end he kissed her back._

_Well, more than a simple kiss, it had been a full snogging session as he kind of lost control of the situation, but overall it has all started with that kiss of hers._

_So yes, there was that, but even though the act was crystal clear, the question remained; why?_

_Why would the Queen do such a thing? Especially since all she had ever done since arriving back to the Enchanted Forest was reminding him day in and day out, how little she could stomach him._

_She didn't want him near. She had been clear about that, so that she all of a sudden kissed him, was not only mind-blowing, but also confusing as hell._

_That was why, for three consecutive days, the infamous archer had been asking himself about the reasons of that happening. He wondered, over and over again… going through all possible motives and quickly discarding them all as absurd._

_At the end, only one option remained and the more he thought about that one, the more sense it made to him._

_The Queen kissed him, because she was plain and simply playing with him._

_She was teasing him. As unbelievable as the notion was for him to grasp, that was the most plausible explanation._

_Be it out of boredom or simply because a woman like her needed someone eating out of the palm of her hand at all times, she was… well, she was basically provoking him._

_Take that moment for example. She walked into that room with the clear intention of making him notice. At least he believed so; first because he had seen the way her eyes settled intently on his as soon as she walked in and second, because never before had he seen the woman mingling with the rest of them in that saloon, and let alone looking so breathtakingly stunning._

_Not that she ever disappointed with her looks, as the woman was gorgeous at all times, but that night she looked particularly astounding and in his mind, that he happened to be there was no coincidence._

_She wanted him to see her, and well… he sure as hell did._

_How could he not? The woman was truly a vision, a living legend in flesh and blood and as much as tried not to, he couldn't just stop himself from staring._

_Did she really dress like that for his benefit? He didn't actually believe it, didn't want to ego-trip into thinking about it because let's face it, he was nothing but a simple thief and she was a Queen. But at the same time… he couldn't keep that thought out of his mind._

_Licking his lips and allowing his eyes to follow her as she walked to the cabinet where the wine was, Robin ran a hand down his jaw, part of him wanting to go after her and ask the one thing that had been eating him inside out and another one, begging him to turn around and forget about her._

_He had no business getting too interested in a woman like her, so out of his league and who let's face it, had a nasty attitude towards him, so the sooner he put that brief moment of insanity behind him, the better._

_Of course, as he knew it would happen, he paid no mind to the rational part of his brain and just walked towards her, his eyes roaming down the exposed skin of her back, going along her spine and ending in the interesting way in which the dress she had fit over her arse perfectly._

_It was an interesting thing, because as it happened, the Queen had a very nice behind._

_And to think he has touched it… hell, more than just touching it, he filled his hands with her flesh, his palms grabbing all they could take while lifting her to him as he kissed her long and deep and she kissed him back…_

_Shaking his head out of such thoughts, Robin breathed in, then he let his instinct guide him._

_He was going to ask, and to hell with everything else._

" _My apologies, your Majesty." He said once he was close enough. It sounded wrong in his ears, but if he wanted to keep perspective of everything, he couldn't give into the need of just shooting the question._

_No, he had a kick of always putting his foot where his mouth was and in this situation, he couldn't allow that to happen._

_That's why he did his best to keep his manners with the Royal. "Can we have a moment to talk?"_

_"Talk?" She asked in a sultry whisper that screamed how much of a tease she was being, but she did it without turning to him, just tilting her head a little to the side as she gracefully poured herself a glass of wine. "Talk about what?"_

_Instead of replying immediately, Robin leaned forward, almost brushing against her. From his place right behind her, he reached for the flask of wine from her hands and placed it down._

_He wanted her attention as well as he wanted to look at her in the eye as he asked his question._

_The act made Regina turn to him, and whereas long ago she would have lashed out her sharp tongue against him for such insolence, this time she just looked at him with playful curiosity._

_That right there gave him the push he needed to forfeit any polite approach and just go for it._

_"If I can be so bold, I think you know that I want to talk about that kiss."_

_Biting lightly_ _her lips as her warm chocolate eyes found his to look at, the Queen arched an eyebrow._

_"Which one?" She hissed, her tongue pressing to the back of her front teeth while tilting her chin in his direction. "If my memory serves me well, there were a few of them."_

_Robin, who was now merely a few inches away from her, flashed her half a smirk, his eyes narrowing the sightless bit as he tried to read into her._

_The way he saw it, there was no way the woman wasn't teasing, maybe even flirting with him and yes, that definitely made him feel his ears burning. After all, it wasn't every day that he got that out of a woman like her and well, his ego was definitely bursting._

_Still… he needed to be wary, as this was the same woman who a week ago would sneer and groan by his mere presence._

_He didn't know what kind of game she was playing, but it may be dangerous._

_"We can start with the first one." Yes, the one she initiated._

_Humming, the pretty brunette's gaze lowered from his eyes so that she could drink on all of him, her brown orbs blatantly scanning him._

_"What about it?"_

_"How about you tell me why?" His eyes reciprocated her bold stare by moving to the fullness of her mouth._

_"Why did I kiss you?" She asked in a breathy tone that made his stomach turn and he knew, he just knew that she had him right where she wanted him._

_He could prolong it, try to find out why she was changing her posture towards him, but at the end, she would have him eating out of the palm of her hand whether he wanted it or not._

_He didn't have a chance… and damn the woman for it._

_With that clear in his head, he blew out a breath, looking away from her to check if there was someone paying any attention to them._

_There wasn't, so moving a little closer to her, he went ahead and asked once more._

_"Yes, why?"_

_"Tell me something, Robin-" She started to say, making the first time she called him by his name sound very promising. "Have you ever wanted to do something without having any good reason to do it, so you just go for it?"_

_Thinking about all the times he has forced his eyes to keep away from her or even how he had nonstop shut his mind from dwelling into some dangerous paths when it came to her, the former bandit shrugged._

_Sure, he knew how it was wanting something… as he had fancied the woman since the first time he laid eyes on her, but he also knew how to get a hold of himself. After all, that was all he has being doing when it came to her._

_First, because it was obvious that he didn't appeal to her good side and second, because drawn to the woman as he was, he was a bit thrown off by her attitude and thus he never went for it._

_Thinking about that, Robin set his gaze on her face, drinking on her delicate features. "Honestly? I'm not much into surrendering to my impulses. I actually tend to do things only when I mean them to be something."_

_And that was about it; yes, he could do some casual flirting every now and then, and if he had his eye on someone and that someone seemed to be equally interested, he would go for it. But he didn't do fleeting affairs, as he was the kind who went for lasting things._

_He hadn't had many of those since Marian, so he was a little rusty, but he was sure that whatever the Queen was looking for, a lasting thing was not it and so he needed to keep his wits sharp._

_It was a shame though, because putting her less than desirable attitude aside, he was actually very interested to know more about her._

_Now, at his statement, the Queen blinked, the corner of her lips slightly curving. "That sounds boring."_

_Her answer made him chuckle because bloody hell. Yes, she had acted haughty and superior before and that had been bad, but this side of her? it was bound to get him in trouble sooner rather than later and he wasn't sure if that was good or bad._

_Not knowing what to expect made him feel a bit antsy, but still, he tried to keep his cool and not to read too much into what she was saying._

_She was teasing, that was more than obvious, but that didn't mean she would carry her intentions any further than that._

_"More like I don't like playing games, Regina." Her eyes widened at his words and her lips slightly parted. "Which to me, is exactly what you are doing here. One day you hate me and the next you kiss me? That doesn't make sense."_

_"I… don't hate you. Didn't we cover this already?" She asked, the sultriness in her voice turning into an strained whisper as she shifted the weight of her body to her left foot._

_Twisting his lips, Robin kept his eyes on her. Yes, at one point she told him she didn't hate him, but given all the biting remarks and the cold sideway glances she had thrown at him, that was hard to believe._

_"Maybe, but you did such a pretty good job at making me believe otherwise, that I'm still a little incredulous when it comes to whatever this is."_

_With a roll of her eyes, the dark-haired woman reached for the wine he made her put down a while ago and took a long sip. Once done with it, she put it back down and eyed him over, her lips pouting a little as she lifted a hand so that her forefinger could slide along his leather vest._

_"Maybe I can find a way to convince you?"_

_Standing a bit straighter as her finger reached down to his stomach, Robin felt all the muscles of his body tense. The woman was being bold and he couldn't deny it, it made his senses go all in alert._

_It made him feel a bit bold too, which was why he fixed his eyes deep into hers, his mind racing…_

_"How so?"_

_Biting teasingly her red colored lips, so full and inviting, the Queen leaned even more into him, sliding her finger to his shoulder and almost resting the full weight of her body against his. "I can show you… if you want."_

_After that, she pulled back from him, but just enough to look into his eyes. What he saw there almost left him speechless._

_What she just said was an open invitation, if not to bed her, to at least go into another snogging session and he'll be damned! how could he turn that down?_

_He was a simple mortal, a man like any other and… shit… he was just… shocked, and a whole of a lot turned on._

_He could even feel himself growing hard by only the implication of what she was offering._

_"But not here."_

_With that said, she dropped her hand from him and then, giving one last look into his eyes, she started to walk away._

_She moved slowly out of the almost deserted dining hall, her hips swaying with each and every one of her steps._

_Was he supposed to follow? Did he even want to?_

_The answer to the last one was a big yes, even if he didn't know what he was getting himself into._

_Still, he followed. He didn't know it then, but from that moment on, he would always do that, going after her even if he didn't know why._

_He would sometimes try to get a grip or to make sense of all of it and definitely to make things into something more than what she wanted, but whatever it was that he would try from then on, it was that night, that Robin Hood sealed his fate_ …

XxXxXxX

Tensing her jaw so hard that she could feel her teeth protesting against the continued abuse, Regina Mills increased the power on the grip she had on the stainless steel balloon whisk, beating fast at the batter in her bowl.

She did that for a few intense minutes. Jaw clenched, wrist moving back and forth in fast and quick circular motions, and her mind set in thinking in nothing else but the task at hand.

Not that her strategy worked for long, of course… because the truth was that no matter how hard she would beat and mix, there was actually no way of escaping her train of thoughts.

"You need to get a grip on yourself. That's what you need to do." She mumbled out loud to no one in particular. "Just… put yourself together."

Relaxing her jaw a little to try and do just that, she let go of the whisk and drew in a deep breath. But as soon as she did it, she realized that her heart was thundering so hard inside her chest, that she began to fear that her ribcage was going to break with the force of it and that in a matter of nothing, the little control she had gained of her emotions would start to slip.

It was bad, even the sound of her heart was deafening and no matter how many deep breathes she would inhale through her nose and then release through her mouth, nothing seemed to calm her down.

It was as if everything went to hell… everything, and as if that wasn't bad enough, on a physical level her hands were trembling, her legs were weak underneath her weight and her stomach was in constant turmoil.

Swallowing on dry, the brunette smoothed her hands against the fabric of her apron and without even realizing it, she started to rub her palms harshly against her hips.

She did that almost coercively, and when she noticed that the motion didn't make her feel any calmer, she grabbed the whisk again and started to beat unmercifully at the batter.

Yes, it would be a hell of a lot easier if she used the electric stand up mixer, but the thing was that she didn't want to do easy.

It was while doing this that she heard the first knock on the door. Ignoring it, she continued to beat and beat until she was sure she ruined the mix.

"Regina?" The voice, annoyingly familiar, didn't even make her look up, but as she heard the footsteps approaching, she bit hard on her lips and held her breath.

"Hey. Is everything good around here?"

Blinking, she remained unresponsive. It wasn't until the visible pregnant woman got in her line of vision, that she had no choice but to let go of her whisk to look at her.

With a roll of her eyes and a snarl of her lips, Regina finally spoke. "What do you want, Snow? What is so urgent that you just walked into my house as if you owned the damn place?"

Crossing her arms to her chest, Mary Margaret narrowed her eyes and apparently scanning the dozens upon dozens of batches of cupcakes Regina had done, she snickered. "What are you doing?"

Arching an eyebrow and half relieved that now that she had company, her heart was behaving kind of normal and that her hands were not shaking so bad, the brown-eyed woman ran the tip of her tongue over her lips and adopted her usual brash tone to talk to the woman. "Baking. Isn't it obvious?"

Snow White hummed and bounced on the heels of her shoes before settling her feet flat on the floor again. "Well, this is a lot of baking."

Tilting her head to the right, Regina set the bowl over the granite counter. "Other than to point the obvious, is there a good reason for you to be here?"

"Yup. I actually came to check on you, to see how you were doing."

Regina had to puff out a breath at that because only one half of the Charming fools would go and wonder about how she was doing after everything that was going on…

"Why, I'm perfectly fine. I'm just pregnant, with no recollection of how that happened, by the way… I um, I can't remember the last year of my life and as if that wasn't enough, your offspring refuses to let me see my son until I prove I am not the one turning people into flying monkeys! Oh, and should I add that my son also has no memory of who I am? So yes, as you can see, there's no reason for me to be anything but perfectly fine."

Cringing at her outburst and probably taking notice of the tremble in Regina's voice, Snow closed her eyes. "Regina-"

"Save it, I don't want your pity or even a hope speech so just… leave me alone."

Deaf to her request, Snow opened her eyes and continued speaking. "You know Emma is just trying to look out for Henry-"

"He is _my_ son." Regina cut in, her jaw clenching once again. "I know, better than anyone here, including Emma, what is best for him. So don't you even try vouching for what she is doing."

"I am not… I'm really not. I'm on your side here. I know you don't believe it or even want it, but I am vouching for you on this one. I know nothing of what is happening is your fault, so I'm talking to her… and she is listening."

Swallowing on dry, Regina set her eyes on Snow. No, she wasn't going to put too much faith in Snow talking to Emma into letting her see Henry, so she was going to keep doing some research about how to get his memories back.

She would do it in her vault, that same afternoon, as she had done the day before.

Meanwhile, she wasn't going to alert Snow so tried to change the subject.

"So you told her already… about… you know?" Rolling her eyes, she pointed at her still flat stomach.

"About your baby? No, I mean, you told me not to tell anyone, and I'm keeping the secret."

Wanting to sting, Regina arched an eyebrow. "Well that would be a first for you, isn't it?"

Snow's face fell a little, still, she kept talking. "I haven't even told David. He, however, told me you and Robin seemed to have a little bit of a tiff the other day."

"Oh." Regina mumbled while reaching for an egg, cracking it and adding it to her batter.

Robin and everything he represented was the last thing she wanted to think about so she wasn't going to bite that bait.

No. She had done a lot of thinking already on that regard, and her conclusion was that she needed to focus just on Henry.

He was the most important subject to obsess over right now m, and Robin and that stupid ink on his arm wasn't going to change that.

So what if he was his so called soulmate? Yes, it momentarily freaked her out, but that meant nothing to her now.

Well, realistically speaking, it did more than just freak her out as she went into full panic mode, the pangs of anxiety creeping up her chest, moving up and up until they were wrapping like cold-bony fingers around her throat.

It had been a puzzling sensation to have, especially because she wasn't the kind of person who would easily fall prey to distress. But in that precise moment, with the image of the ink on Robin's arm burning like hot iron into her brain, she had felt a deep sense of panic take over all of what she was.

It squeezed on her trachea, slowly at first, then the grip getting tighter and stronger… low-key blocking her passage of air and making the desperation compromising her psyche turn up a notch.

But that has been the day before, now… now she was over it.

At least that was what she had been trying to convince herself into, that the fact that she got apparently pregnant by her soulmate wasn't such a big deal.

It was funny… in a tragic kind of way, she guessed, but she was no longer going to keep drowning in those waters.

"So, did you tell him already?"

"I don't see how that concerns you. Now is there anything else I can do for you?" She asked in an obvious dismissal when she saw that the woman was still standing there.

Clearing her throat and lifting a hand to her head, Snow scratched behind her ear. It was as if she had something to say, but was finding a way to spit it out.

"What?" She asked in a hiss. But when she saw the woman pout as if she was struggling, she got worried. "Is it Henry?"

"No… Henry is fine." Taking in a deep breath, she continued talking. "Okay… so, when I was making my way here, I kind of ran into someone. I was driving, and I saw him and… well, I gave him a lift. He doesn't drive, you know?"

Regina arched an eyebrow, silently urging the woman to keep talking.

"We talked about silly stuff, but then when I asked where he wanted me to drop him off, it turned out we were both going to the same place. Here."

At first, Regina just frowned, but after a second, she knew where Snow was going, and glancing at her through dark-wide eyes, she snarled her lips. "No."

"He's outside."

Regina snorted, bitterly… her stomach dropping because she didn't want to see him.

She couldn't, just thinking about it made her feel like panicking once again! Thing that made her understand she had been lying to herself when she tried to convince her mind about how the man being her soulmate meant nothing.

"He is pretty much sure he offended you in some way and he wants to settle that." Letting it rest there for a second, Snow gave chance for the words to sink into Regina's head before continuing. "So… he is really the father, isn't he?"

Regina, who was adding melted butter to the mix in the bowl, froze for a second.

"He said that?"

"Not about the baby, but about you being upset? Yes, he told me he cocked up."

Blinking her eyes rapidly and feeling her heart starting to beat furiously fast once again, Regina randomly added ingredients to the mix that didn't necessarily belong to the recipe she was aiming for, but it served as a distraction to her trembling hands, so she kept doing it.

"I'm not upset, I'm alright."

"Oh, it shows… sure, but he on the other hand… he looks kind of worried."

Blowing out a breath she hadn't even realized that she was holding, Regina felt an ache settle in her heart, and trying to soothe it, she ran a hand over her chest. "Well, when you go out now, tell him everything is fine. There, that would make you both happy."

Snow's eyes narrowed, as if studying the situation. "Why don't you tell him yourself? I mean, if you are not upset over this mysterious thing he did or said, then there shouldn't be a problem."

Clenching her jaw, Regina stared daggers at the woman and placing the palms of her hands over the granite countertop, she leaned a little forward. "I can't… see him."

There, she said it out loud, and to Snow White of all people!

Walking forward and sitting on a stool near the counter island, Snow sighed. "Was it that bad, what he said?"

Blinking her eyes a few times, Regina shrugged. "He didn't upset me by doing or saying anything." At least not since that stupid moment he laughed. "He actually said _all_ the right things."

"Then what is the problem?"

Letting a teary snort roll out of her lips, Regina closed her eyes. "Me. I am the problem. I… I am not the kind of person who gets or even deserves to have nice things. Look at what happened with Henry, for instance. But now I find myself in this situation that let's face it, sounds too ideal: a baby and Robin freaking Hood as a… well, whatever the hell he is, and it doesn't feel like it will end right. I will do something to mess it up. Who knows? I probably did already during that missing year and he doesn't remember it, but he probably hates me for I don't even know what reason."

And wouldn't that be tragic? For her soulmate to hate her for just for being her?

Pursing her lips, Snow looked up and then she sighed tiredly. "You are right, he probably hated you, so, so much, that he got you pregnant and gave you that cute little ring. You must have been terrible, Regina, as he sure sounds appalled."

Groaning and not quite appreciating the sarcasm, Regina snarled her lips. "We don't actually know under what circumstances that came to happen."

"No, we don't. But I don't think we should assume the worse in this case. So I don't know, hear him out, get rid of this blockade you created in your head because Regina, with a baby on the way, you and Robin will be up for the long haul. Besides, you don't see it yet, but the thing about love is that once it knocks on your door, it's hard to ignore it."

"Love? Who said anything about love? I don't even know the man."

And God, she didn't like that word either… didn't even believe she could feel it in that kind of way. No… she was sure that whatever she had with Robin had only been physical.

 _'But he's your soulmate_ …' a voice that annoyingly sounded like Tinkerbell reminded her. _'And there can't be such a thing as simply physical when it comes to soulmates.'_

Grabbing the bowl hard against her, Regina sat on a chair opposite to her stepdaughter. She didn't say anything, and for a moment neither did Snow. But then, the silence was broken.

"I'm going to let him in. You don't have to figure anything out just yet, but you should definitely try to get along with him."

As if anticipating a protest, Snow waited for a reply. She didn't give any, so getting up to her feet she started to walk out.

Rolling her eyes and lowering her head until her forehead came to rest against the counter, Regina closed her eyes and wondered what the hell she was going to do now.

Getting a grip, she decided. So straightening up and putting the bowl down, she wiped her hands against her apron and took in a deep breath.

That right there also reminded her that she needed to take the damn thing off, because looking too homely was definitely not the vibes she wanted him to get. She hurried to do it, and just when she was putting it away, she saw Robin walking in.

He looked taller somehow, even imposing as he invaded the privacy of her home, and as he moved closer and closer with his eyes settled into hers, time seemed to slow to a crawl.

It was unnerving to feel that way, so exposed…

"Milady." He said with a nod, and wanting to keep appearances, Regina tilted her chin up.

She didn't know what to say though, so she just pointed at the stool Snow just vacated so that he could sit.

He sat, resting his elbows on the counter and lacing his fingers together.

Nice fingers, she noticed… at least for someone who lived out in the woods. Nails were clean and trimmed and well, it somehow showed he was an archer.

"I'm going to be quick about it as I don't want to disrupt this thing that you're doing. I came to apologize, you know, in case I said something to upset you. I often put my foot where my mouth is and most of the time, I don't even realize it."

Looking away from those blues of his, Regina twisted her mouth. "I'm not upset over something you said… or with you."

Robin just hummed, so despite her reluctance, she ended up looking back at him. He was staring back, a mix of disbelief and amusement gracing his features.

"You're not? That's not the impression I got. Maybe I got it all wrong, but you kind of seemed in a hurry to get away."

"I… wasn't in much of a hurry, but yeah… I sure bolted. I was upset about the whole thing with my son, and I wanted to be alone. Cupcake?" She offered, trying to shift his attention in another direction.

Frowning, he lowered his eyes to the cupcake in her hand, as if he wasn't sure if he should take it or not.

Rolling her eyes, she hissed. "It's not poisoned, you know?"

He just snorted, taking it. "Cupcake… this is a concept here? Like a cake in a cup?"

Despite her current mood and everything life was throwing at her, Regina chuckled. It was a quick thing though, as she stopped as soon as she realized what she did.

Not that it mattered. Robin definitely noticed and judging by the big smirk on his face, he was very pleased with himself.

He apparently knew better, so instead of commenting on it, he just bit into the sweet.

"Mmm, this is actually good." He said once he swallowed, then, he took another bite.

"I know." She replied with a hint of arrogance, but at the same time, biting into the shadow of a smile as she watched him eat.

It was weird… but yes, she was feeding Henry's favorite chocolate cupcakes to her soulmate… in her kitchen, and she wasn't sure how to feel.

Yet somehow, fleeing wasn't a thing she desperately felt like doing.

"You should do that more often."

"Baking?" Snorting because couldn't he see how much of that she already did? Regina rested a hand to her hip.

"Smiling… relaxing. It suits you."

Chewing hard into the inside of her cheek and definitely flashing him an annoyed look, she sighed.

"Alright, apparently that was uncalled for, so my apologies again." He lifted his hands as if in surrender, but the sparkle in his eyes looked everything but apologetic.

"Is that something that would happen a lot, you apologizing over things you shouldn't say?"

"Only if you keep being offended by them. But for now, I would say yes, it may happen a lot… quite actually."

Groaning, Regina leaned forward against the counter. "I still don't understand how I let you convince me into this." She said pointing at her stomach. "You are insufferable."

"Convince you? I would bet my right arm you were the one getting us, well… there."

Ha, he wished. Not even in his wildest dream a thing like that would make sense.

"Your right arm? That's a bold thing to bet, considering you need it."

"That's how confident I am." He smiled, his dimples in full display.

His words made Regina's stomach turn, because the way she saw it, he was letting her now that never in a million years, would he ever put his eyes on her.

"Well, I didn't force you, if that's what you're thinking."

Looking confused, he ran a hand down his jaw. "I didn't say that-"

"Maybe not like that, but you're making it obvious that you don't think this was something you wanted or even looked for. It's alright, I don't blame you. I wouldn't pursue getting knocked up by the live version of a fox… or whatever Robin Hood is in this land."

"Hey, what are you even saying?" He cut her off, reaching forward and searching for her hand. He didn't grab it, he just rested his on top of it and shook it a little.

Swallowing hard, she shrugged. "I'm saying, that because some version of yourself fell into whatever this was, and for whatever reason, that you don't have to honor it. You don't like me, hell… you even found the idea of being with me laughable and that's okay."

"Alright, let's clarify some things here."

Clearing his throat, Robin stood from the stool and walked to her. He only stopped when he was face to face with her.

"I don't think the idea of you and me having something is laughable because I don't like you. Regina, you're stunning… and this, or any version of myself wouldn't mind getting more out of you than those murderous glances you like throwing at me. Yes, I laughed… it was a stupid reaction, but trust me when I tell you it was more because the idea of a woman like you mingling with the likes of me was a bit of hard to grasp. As for the thing with me knowing it was you the one who got us into this?"

He shrugged, his eyes digging into hers. It was almost hypnotic, so Regina did nothing but stare back.

"I said it because I know I would never throw myself head first unless I knew for sure there was some water waiting for me down there. Are we clear in that?"

Scrunching her nose, Regina rolled her eyes. Sure, his words were kind of reassuring and made her ego lift a little, but because she wasn't going to let him know, she kept her face neutral.

"Women like me? What is that even supposed to mean?"

Snorting, Robin lifted a hand to her cheek, his thumb tracing lazy fingers over her skin. "You're a Queen, for starters… a very gorgeous one. Actually, you're quite the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

"Now you're pandering." She said with a roll of her eyes and the same bored expression as before, but inside, God she was feeling antsy as hell.

"You're a bit of intimidating as well."

Right, because he looked _so_ intimidated right there, grabbing her face, getting a bit nearer and nearer… almost enough to kiss her.

"I thought you didn't throw yourself if there was no water."

"Isn't there?"

Not really knowing what the hell was happening, Regina drew in a shaky breath. He was too close, lingering… probably waiting for either a green or a red light from her.

She was stuck on yellow… kind of gravitating towards him, closing the distance between them a bit more.

And God, with him there and his scent taking over all of her senses, her heart was beating so hard she was sure he could even hear it. But before she could say or even put her mind straight, her front door burst open and Snow's voice calling for her made her jump back.

"Regina! David just called and there's seems to be a problem. They found Rumpelstiltskin running wild in the woods, he's a bit out of his mind, talking in riddles. That's not all… he's not only Rumpel, but Neal as well… they are under some kind of curse. We need you, because I think _he_ knows exactly what is going on, and if anyone can get it out of him, that's you…"

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

"When it rains, it pours..."

As soon as the man infamously known as Robin Hood heard those words roll out of the Queen's mouth in that raspy tone she seemed to favor so much, the blue of his eyes moved from the bizarre scene taking place in front of him so that he could focus entirely on her.

It was only for a moment though, just enough to take on the way her knitted brows made her features look more severe than what he knew them to be. But then, before his eyes could fully drink on the image of her, Baelfire started to groan out loud from his sick bed and just as he has been doing before, Robin's attention was back on him… a sense of morbid curiosity taking hold of his entire being.

It was a strange thing, being there… as he wasn't quite sure what he was looking at. But if he was going to take for granted what Belle just said, he was apparently witnessing a case of Baelfire being both himself and his father at the same time.

How could that happen? Nobody seemed to know for sure, but this merge between the two of them was the reason why the younger of the duo would from time to time be invaded with what appeared to be his mind splitting between one man and the other.

Bizarre? Yes, he was well aware of how mental that sounded. But as much as it pained him to admit it, Robin couldn't say that he was completely surprised as he should. Not when ever since he arrived to this _Storybrooke_ , it had been one weird thing after another and sure, why not add a little bit of the Dark One's drama into the mix?

It was the only thing they needed to complete the circle of madness. Missing year, a curse, flying monkeys, probably the Wicked Witch and of course, now this thing with Rumpelstiltskin.

It was like the Queen just stated, when it rained, it poured.

"Aren't you going to do something about this?"

Taken out of his thoughts by the harsh manner in which those words were blurted out, the former outlaw moved his head towards the blonde woman he now identified as Emma Swan, his eyes narrowing as the authoritarian question echoed all through the room.

It was a thing hard to ignore, especially when the words were accompanied with a stare that could freeze the very pits of hell.

So yes, he noticed, and Regina definitely did too. He knew because as soon she realized Emma was talking to her, she let out a chuckle that bordered more in annoyance than it did in amusement.

"Are you actually talking to me?" She asked at last, one hand going to her chest as she blinked slowly.

"Who else would I be talking to? This is dark magic working here, and we all know that is exactly your forte, so _you_ … fix it."

Chuckling, Regina took a step forward, the tip of her tongue pressing to the corner of her lips. Robin watched all those little details as if in slow motion, all of his senses on alert as he was sure the Queen was about to do something that would definitely get her in trouble. Sure, him as well, as he was there as her companion.

"What makes you think I take orders from you, Swan?" Regina hissed, her posture rigid as a brick wall and her eyes shooting poisonous darts.

Clenching her jaw, Emma lifted her chin defiantly, almost as if she wanted to duel the Queen.

"It's not an order Regina, but if you had even an ounce of decency in you, you would be helping Neal here."

"Emma, it isn't…"

"And if you used even half of those brain cells in that thickhead of yours, you would understand that there is not much I can do to help your bae here. You can't walk around this kind of magic. A life for a life means exactly that, so if I separate the two of them right now, one would die and trust me, it won't be Rumpel."

There was a moment of silence as soon as Regina said that, one that Robin used to scratch just above his left eyebrow, his lips quirking one way and then the other as the implication of those words settled deep into everyone around.

Baelfire was going to die, which was a shame since he actually liked the man, and that was something he couldn't say about The Dark One.

"There must me something… I can't… I won't accept that." Emma was the one that broke the silence, only that this time her tone was softer, almost pleading.

"I'm afraid Regina is right. That symbol in Neal's hand is from an ancient talisman probably forged with the darkest of magic, and if he used it to resurrect Rumpel… then the price must be paid."

"No." Emma hissed, and even thought Robin wasn't sure if he actually liked the woman or not, he felt bad for her.

He knew how it was to lose someone you loved, and he wouldn't wish that to his worst enemy.

"It's ok, Em, you know what you have to do. If you all want to break this curse, you will need my father more than what you need me."

"Let's not talk about that right now, okay? We'll wait it out and then we'll see. You haven't even seen Henry yet so-"

"Wait… what?" Regina interrupted with a chuckle, the sound far from being amused. "How come he gets to see Henry but I don't?"

Emma didn't even look at her. "He's his father."

"And _I am_ his mother."

"But he doesn't know that. Telling him about Neal will be a natural thing while you… there's no way to explain you."

Oh and that wasn't good… he could feel it in his gut, that this wasn't going to end good.

But, much to his surprise, Regina answered with a control that was eerie to witness. It was like the calm before the storm, and that made him reach for her, his hand reaching for her elbow.

"Regina…" He called softly, sure that whatever anger she felt boiling inside of her wasn't good for her, for the baby or even for everyone else in that room.

But she didn't react to him, not to respond and not no pull away.

"How easy it is for you to just waltz into his life after abandoning him, huh? and then to have the audacity to act like you have all the rights over him."

"And how easy it is for you to act like you were mother of the year. Henry doesn't need you, last year was the best he ever had in his whole life and guess what? that was because you were not there. Then the minute you come back look at the mess he is in already."

"Okay Emma that's enough!" Snow White yelled while slapping a hand to the table. "I know you are hurting, but that doesn't give you the right to turn into an asshole. You have a grudge you want to get off your chest, then go and find the one who cursed us all instead of pointing fingers at the person who saved the whole town by giving up on the thing she loves the most, and yes, that's her son, the child she raised for ten years before you showed up."

Doing a double take, Emma snorted. "Are you seriously taking her side?"

"You know what, Swan? You can't talk about decency here and about heroes this and villains that, when you are keeping Henry away from me out of spite. You had him for one year, and yes, maybe he was as happy as you described him. But that was because the memories I put in both your heads and not because the life you gave him. New York? The way he was raised? That was all on me… and don't you forget that."

With that said, Regina turned completely around until she was facing him.

"Let's go." For a moment, Robin was sure she was talking with someone else and that she meant to walk pass him and just leave, but when the deep chocolate of her eyes settled into his own stare, he had no other choice than to straighten his posture and blow out a small breath.

What could he say? He followed her, yes, but he was at a loss because ever since they were so brutally interrupted by Snow White back at her house, Regina has been blatantly ignoring him.

To be honest, he had been sure he ruined things with her once again to a turn of no return, this time by jumping ahead of himself and trying to kiss her.

So no, he wasn't exactly expecting anything less than a cold shoulder and no, he wouldn't have blamed her if she would have kept with that distant behavior as he definitely overstepped.

Ah, but bloody hell, wrong as it has been, it wasn't as if he could help it. She just… she had been there, looking at him with those liquid warm dark eyes of hers, with her walls down and that gorgeous mouth looking so inviting that he had been basically swept off his feet.

He didn't think things through, he just allowed instinct to guide him and as it looked like, his instinct wanted to put him straight against the woman's lips.

And Regina? He didn't want to let his ego get confused here as he would probably fall flat on his arse when it came to this, but back to that moment, he was sure she would have kissed him back.

"You say you know this Wicked Witch, right?" Regina asked once they were outside and heading towards her very own traveling carriage.

Frowning because the Wicked Witch was the last thing he expected to be in the Queen's mind after that intense back and forth she just had with Emma, Robin cleared his throat.

"I wouldn't say I know her, but I crossed paths with her once."

Halting on her tracks, Regina swirled gracefully on her feet, her eyes once again fixing on his. "But would you recognize her if you saw her? and before you answer, keep in mind that she may not be quite green right now."

Clicking his tongue to the roof of his mouth, Robin flashed her way half a smirk. "Yes, I would, I never forget a face. Well you know… under normal circumstances, at least."

Humming, the Queen's eyes widened, a dangerous glint taking over them. "Good, then let's hunt that witch so we can get this over with."

Before the woman could start walking again, Robin placed a hand to her elbow, his eyes narrowing as he made her blink in confusion. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, why shouldn't I be?" She replied with a shrug and a sly grin that instead of amicable, looked dangerous.

"Well that was quite an argument you had back there and… I don't think it would be weird or even wrong to be upset."

"I'm not upset. I am determined, more than ever to find this witch, break this curse and have my son back. Now, are you coming with me or not?"

Using the tip of his tongue to moisten his lips, Robin's eyebrow shot up at the hostile way in which he asked that question.

Yes, in any other occasion and with any other person, the attitude would have thrown him off for sure, but he was quite observant and he was getting the hang of this woman already so he knew…

Yes, as he was taking it, the more vulnerable she felt, the more defensive she would get. She was like a wild cat in that aspect, defensive to her last breath and always on her toes.

That was why he shrugged the tone off. "Since you asked oh so nicely, I will have no choice other than to tag alone. So shall we?"

"Of course." Regina's own eyebrow arched perfectly in her pretty face, and despite everything his brain was yelling at him, Robin smiled… knowing for a fact that this hunting trip was going to be very interesting.

**XxXxXxXxX**

"So let me see if I get this straight… your son is the grandchild of both Snow White and The Dark One, right? But Snow White, is also your stepdaughter…"

Pursing her lips at the way in which Robin was trying to decipher the weird mess that was her extended family's connections, Regina continued to push herself into walking forward, moving on and on even though her legs were already protesting the several miles she had walked so far.

She was tired, even if she would die before admitting such a thing. So, she took the question the man just threw at her as the perfect opportunity to turn around and stop for a while.

It was the pregnancy, it was making her tire a hell of a lot faster as of late and well, she needed a moment.

"If you even suggest I am my own son's great… step-grandmother or something like that, I am going to hurt you."

The comment seemed to take Robin a little by surprise because he suddenly halted on his tracks, making Regina think that she overdid it when she said she would hurt him. But instead of looking concerned about what came off a as a threat, the man actually laughed heartily; the sound rich and raspy not only filling the air, but also drilling into Regina's head.

It was a weird thing, but instead of being annoyed by the man's constant chatter as she should be because for Christ's sake, did he ever shut up? Regina was actually entranced by the smoothness of his voice, his sharp thinking and yes, why not admit it? By the curiosity he had over her.

It was like he wanted to absorb it all. About Henry, and Snow and everything she was willing to talk about. That was something she hadn't had in forever. Someone who listened, even if she was still reluctant to talk much.

"I wasn't even going to suggest such a thing; but now that you put it here-" He pressed his forefinger against his temples, a big dimple smile flashing in his face as he stared blatantly at her. "I won't be able to take it out."

Scoffing, Regina rolled her eyes, looking away from him and that disconcerting feeling she would get whenever their eyes met. She scanned their surroundings instead, all of her senses on alert.

They were deep in the woods, exploring the area where the Neal/Gold combo was found. They were following whoever of the two was roaming aimlessly around, checking his tracks to see if they would lead somewhere.

"Do this tracks even make sense to you?" She asked, sitting down in a fallen log and hoping he would take the hint and give her some time. "They look messy."

"Actually, they do." He replied biting down on his lips as he lowered down to inspect one of said tracks. "The way I see it, whenever he was coming from, he seemed to be in a hurry to get out of there. He even fell a few times along they way, so he was probably either scared or tired… I would say the later. He was running and there's nothing that makes you sloppier than being tired."

Lifting his chin to look at her with all the intensity of those blues of his, the man procured something from his pocket and offered it to her. It was a waterskin, and by the looks of it, one that had seen better days.

"It's water, totally harmless."

Knowing she shouldn't take it, but too thirsty to refuse, Regina bit into the inside of her cheek as she reached for it. "Do you travel around with water in your pockets?"

"Old habits die hard. Back in the Enchanted Forest, I didn't know when the next stream or well was going to be so this came handy, especially if you travel with a four year old boy."

Yes… his son. He already talked a bit about him as they made their way around, so she relaxed a little, somehow feeling a sense of familiarity take over her.

"Did you do this often there, track people?"

"I did more tracking on game than I did on people, but I did covered quite a few tracks of mine."

Watching as he lifted up to go and sit by her side, Regina swallowed on dry, the manner in which he accommodated himself over the log so that he was fully facing her making her back straightened up.

"Because you were an outlaw…"

Smiling once again that dimple smile of his, the man nodded. "Yes, because I was an outlaw. It is an acquired skill, you know? Tracking… not only do you have to take your time to observe, but you need to correctly interpret your observations. One misstep or one wrong turn, and you have to start all over again."

Narrowing her eyes as she wasn't exactly sure if he was actually talking about tracking, Regina bit hard into her lips. "And what do you observe here?"

Her voice, lower and perhaps throatier than what she meant it to come out, filled the air… making her question herself about what she was doing.

Maybe she was going out on a limb there, but she was almost sure he was low-key flirting with her and well, she would be lying if she said she was completely unaffected.

It had been a while for her and this… thief was like a magnet. One that no matter how hard she tried to get away from, would pull at her closer and closer.

"You think you are taking all the right turns?"

His eyes lowered to her lips for a second. "I certainly hope so. I mean they are good tracks, so I think they will lead me to where I want to go."

"To the Wicked Witch?"

He laughed, and despite herself, she had to bite down a smile of her own.

"Yeah, to the Wicked Witch."

Pushing her tongue hard against the inside of her teeth, Regina just looked at him, curious.

"So, Robin of Locksley. Turns out you knew Neal from before, and the Wicked Witch… and Belle. Are you sure we never crossed paths as well?" She asked at least, her eyes blinking a few times.

"Oh, I'm sure. Like I said, I never forget a face… let alone one like yours."

Looking up to the wide blue skies, Regina sighed. 

"What happened back there with Emma, is that a recurrent thing?"

Snorting, Regina looked at him. He was back at having that curious glint in his eyes. "We getting at each other's throat? Yeah… pretty much."

"No, I meant she accusing you of everything wrong that happens around here and treating you like shit, but at the same time expecting you to solve all her problems?"

Regina blinked one time, then two…

"I don't know if I like her. I mean, I am pretty much laid back when it comes to interacting with people, but this Emma Swan? I don't know…"

Ah, screw it, Regina thought as she watched him talk. Then, before she could even help it, she she was leaning forward, grabbing his jacket and pulling him harshly towards her.

It was a rough thing, and the way her mouth crashed against his was everything but smooth. But God, as soon as she felt his lips on hers, she was sure she was going to be forever doomed.

Maybe it was the perks of kissing your soulmate, or maybe it was because she had been deprived of the sensation for so long, but damn it felt liberating to do it.

When she finally pulled away, Robin looked even more surprised than how she felt herself, and that made her regret what she just did. But before she could say or even do something to justify her actions, he was grabbing her face.

"Well that was quite interesting… but so short…"

He let the words linger in the air and when she didn't utter a reply, he slowly leaned into her, giving her enough time to stop him.

She didn't. She was actually curious about what he would do and how it would feel for her; that was why she just held her breath as his lips brushed against hers.

For the longest seconds of her life, Robin just remained there, their lips joined with the merest of touches. It wasn't until he knew she wasn't going to protest the contact, that he added more pressure into it.

Then, moving his hand along her face, he used his thumb to pull down at her chin so that he could get access into her, the sensation of his tongue nudging at hers making her weak all over.

It also made her crave for more, so sliding her hands to his shoulders and then around his neck, she kissed him back.

In no time, the kiss turned more insistent, his face angling to the side while his tongue caressed hers into action. All that she let it happen, particularly liking how he began to explore her until the kiss started getting hungrier, her own tongue matching him movement for movement.

As she felt the air being stolen out of her lungs, she was finding that kissing him was quite addicting and she couldn't get enough of it, of him. The warmness of his mouth, the sweet urgency of his kiss and the way his fingers buried themselves into her hair to pull her even closer…

But even though it felt more than nice, she couldn't help but to question the moment.

It just… couldn't be, this was the man with the lion tattoo, the one that was supposed to be her soulmate, so this was dangerous…

Before things could escalate into something she would regret, Regina's hand found its way up to his cheek and with a soft caress, she pulled away from him.

It was crazy, her breathing was unsteady, she could feel her cheeks flushed and as much as she wanted to, she couldn't find it in her gut to look into his eyes. "Robin, this… we can't."

He lifted her chin with his fingers so that he could see her face.

"Why not?"

"Because…." She started to say as she opened her eyes. It was insane, but as she did that, she immediately got lost into the clouded blue orbs that were staring back into her own and she simply lost track of what she was going to say.

"Listen, I know this may feel a bit sudden but… come on, I don't know about you, but I definitely feel a pull towards you that's hard to ignore."

Regina opened her mouth to deny it, to tell him that there was no pull. That whatever thing he was feeling, was a direct effect of his mind knowing he got her pregnant and that of course would make him feel drawn to her.

His subconscious was probably thinking that if he got lucky with her once, that there was a chance he could do it again and that was why he was interested.

He was a man like any other so of course the idea of an easy lay was appealing.

"Can't you feel it to too?"

Smiling his most charming smile, Robin licked his lips and got a bit closer to her, almost close enough to kiss her once again and definitely close enough for her to breathe on his scent.

"I don't know… I'm not sure what to think."

"Then don't."

Without giving her time to process what he just said, Robin grabbed her face and guided her to him.

Once he was close enough, he claimed her mouth again his and kissed her. He didn't force it though. Breathing in, she felt the tip of his tongue sneaking out so he could gently caress her lips with it.

Her resistance to that was zero and he took advantage of her moment of weakness to slide in and swirl his tongue around hers.

Regina just let him do it, once again caught in a moment where she knew she should stop something from happening, but at the same time, unable to.

It was something out of this world, the way he slowly took control… how his tongue delved smoothly into her mouth to nudge her into action, how he was turning everything into a sweet torment that clouded her judgment in a compromising way...

This was why she shouldn't be doing this, because she was not in control. But now, as she kissed him back while her hand came to rest at the nape, she wasn't so sure if she wanted to stop.

She didn't know what it was about her in that moment… but the thing was that her mind wasn't in the right place and she didn't have it in her to pull away. His taste was too intoxicating, and the way he was kissing her was clouding up her judgment even more that it already was.

The kiss went on like that for a while, and as it happened, his hands found their way to her thigh, one remaining in place and the other one slowly sliding up until she could feel it to her waist and sneaking beneath her shirt. The touch of his fingers caressing her naked skin sending a shiver up her spine.

That was when the reality of it all caught up with her.

She shouldn't be there, letting him take those liberties with her just like that.

With her head clearing a bit, Regina broke away from his lips and pushed his hand away from her. "I think I better go." She breathed out, looking into his eyes and finding that even when the kiss ended, that he was still too close to her.

"Alright, I'm sorry. That was definitely out of line." He whispered darkly, his warm breath caressing her face as he spoke. "I'll behave… I just got carried away."

Clearing his throat, he slid away, a hand dragging down his face as he blinked a couple of times.

The way it looked like, he was done with kissing and now they were going to be stuck in that awkward after match limbo.

It was were she needed to remain… she knew it, but for reason, she moved closer to him, her mouth searching for his so that they could kiss again.

His response was immediate, and before she could wonder what was with her, they were back at making out, her hands buried into his hair as his settled on her waist.

For a while that was all they did, but apparently needing air, Robin eventually pulled away and hissed.

"What are you doing to me, you have me bewitched?" He mumbled before moving his lips to her throat, sucking lightly on the spot where her pulse was beating erratically against her flesh.

It made her shiver, his tongue working wonders on her skin making her close her eyes and thrive on sensation.

"I'm not doing anything… I just came here to do some tracking."

"You were the one who kissed me first."

Yes she did, she was the one who started it all, even if he took the torch from her and started to carry it. "I never heard you complain."

He snorted, keeping his lips attached to her skin as his fingers moved to her ribcage, stopping just underneath the swell of her breast. He lingered there, probably waiting for her approval.

She didn't voice it, but she hummed in appreciation and probably taking that as a green light, he moved his hand up, right until he could feel a cup through her bra.

Sucking in a breath, a warm liquid sensation started to settle right between her legs and she couldn't find a way to stop things before they went too far.

"Is this alright?"

The brown eyed woman licked at her lips and closed her eyes. She didn't know how to respond to that because no, it was not alright. They were making out like two horny teens in the woods, and that was definitely not her style. But at the same time, she wanted him to go on… she wanted his touch to explore her all over, she wanted his lips to kiss her once again, and she definitely wanted his hand to move from where it was still resting on her waist and to settle right where her heat was forming.

"Yeah..." Using the hand she had on his head, Regina made his face move to hers and when he was close, she pressed her mouth to his.

He responded at once, urging her to part her lips for him.

With his tongue deep in her mouth, Regina's hand went to his hair and then down to the back of his neck, her fingers brushing a path to his face until her hand rested on his cheek. Her other hand went to his back, wanting to feel him closer.

Robin pulled her to him, making her straddle him and she couldn't help but to enjoy the shiver that ran down her spine as her body came to rest on top of his.

She gasped into his mouth as she felt the pressure and yes, this was definitely going further than what she anticipated and she wasn't sure what to make of that.

But it wasn't like she wanted to stop. Quite the contrary, with her mind going straight into the gutter, she felt like she needed more.

That was how without breaking the kiss, Regina kissed him deeper, her hips moving so that she could feel the ultimate proof that she was not the only one enjoying the moment.

"Shit Regina…" He hissed against her lips. "You think this is how it started back in the Enchanted Forest? You seducing me right in the middle of the woods.

"You still putting this on me?" She breathed low, pushing a bit harder against his more than obvious erection.

He hissed and yes, in a way, it made her feel powerful…

"Yes, definitely."

Smiling, her lips left his and before he could say something more, she slid her hands down his back, feeling through his shirt the hardness of his muscles. As she did that, his lips found their way to the soft skin of her neck again.

"You have no idea what you're doing to me." He said in a raspy voice, teasing at her flesh as her hands explored the wonders of his back and shoulders.

"Then show me." She whispered despite herself, her voice carrying the low undertones of the sweet turmoil he was provoking in her as his hand traveled up her leg.

She arched her back to him, claiming his lips as his fingers did their own exploration, running along her thigh, up to her hip and halting on her lower stomach to undo her pants.

He did that slowly and without stopping the kiss, almost as if to give her time to stop him. She didn't, her mind was too far gone and the heat between her legs was not letting her get a hold of herself.

It was too much, and not even the fact that his hand was finally sliding into her pants to reach even deeper until he could move it into the thin fabric of her underwear, made her want to stop him.

He teased at her, almost touching her in places that would definitely make her blood boil and her desire to soar to the roof… but even when he was so close he was not giving her what her body craved.

"What do you want?" He asked pulling away from the kiss while his darkened eyes fixed on her face.

"What?" She asked and then moaned low in her throat as his fingers brushed over her wetness.

"What do you want me to do?"

Her breathing was a bit ragged and she was sure that her face was flushed… but she didn't know what to say.

His fingers brushed once again over the spot and she closed her eyes when they keep going the other way. "Tell me…"

"For the love of God, Robin. Don't be a tease and just do it." She breathed out and even though she couldn't see his face, she knew he was smiling that sly grin of his.

That seemed to be the answer that he was looking for, because his fingers gave way to her desire and they started a more intimate caress, making her moan and get even more flustered than before.

"Look at me." He said and she did, finding his eyes on hers as his fingers worked their magic of rubbing and delving. It almost felt obscene. "You sure this is okay?"

"Yeah-" She breathed out, and not wanting to be left behind in the touching department, she slid back into his lap to create more room.

Once settled, her hand went down his body until she found him, hard and ready for her.

Humming, Robin licked his lips, watching through darkening eyes as she wrestled a battle with his pants. Once she finally managed to sneak her way in, she took him in the palm of her hand without the barrier of his clothes.

All the while, her eyes remained on him, watching a flush take over his face and his tongue peeked out through his lips.

He looked so dreamy, all hot and bothered and as two of his fingers kept delving into her heated center, she ran her thumb over the crown of his erection.

He kissed her, his tongue going as deep as his fingers were going…

But then, before they could really get deeper into the moment, there was a noise from above… a screeching noise that made her jump away from him.

"What the hell?" She said, looking up, but with the dense foliage, it was hard to get a good look.

Robin reacted too, hurrying to his feet as he grabbed for the crossbow he put by the log.

"Get down." He yelled and before she could even do it, there was a hideous creature trying to get a hold of her.

A flying monkey, she guessed, but before she could even put her magic to good use, two arrows hit the creature. One right in the face, and the other one just below its neck.

It made it screech again, but as it came down, it just puffed in a cloud of dust.

"Are you alright?" She felt Robin place a hand to the small of her back, but she was too entranced watching the spot where the creature was supposed to be.

"Hey…"

"I'm okay… I just…" God, she was going to be sick… and she couldn't get sick in that moment.

She wasn't sure if she was turning into a wimp or if it was the pregnancy acting up again, but shit, that thing has reeked.

"You want to go back?"

"No… I think we are close… she must have sent that winged freak because we are getting close to her."

Grabbing her face, Robin made her look at him. "You are looking awfully pale."

"I'm okay."

"Last time I saw you looking like this, you fainted in my arms so just humor me here for a second. We'll come back, maybe we can even gather a team and sweep the entire area, okay? But only when you are feeling better."

She wanted to argue with him, tell him that she could single handle this if she needed to, but the truth was that the flying monkey's smell was still dancing in front of her nose and that wasn't going to lead anywhere good.

So yeah, she agreed… completely unaware that there was another pair of eyes looking at them… lurking in the shadows and biding on time to attack and preferably get rid of the Evil Queen once and for all.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

_Regina had been very much aware that he was going to eventually come looking for her. Yes, she really did, and quite frankly, she wouldn't have expected any less. But when the time came and she found him casually sitting in her vanity's chair, elbows over knees as he leaned a bit forward, she almost gasped in surprise._

_He startled her, enough to get her heart pumping hard and fast and for her breath to halt for a few consecutive seconds, because even if she knew this moment would come, seeing him there shook her._

_She had been kind of expecting him to be more prudent and knock on her door or maybe to even make the approach something more neutral, but no, he didn't… he just took the initiative of intruding into her private chambers like the thief that he was, and then he took the liberty to sit… to wait… to take her completely and utterly by surprise._

_Luckily for her, she was able to save face and didn't let it show. She proudly stood her ground, assuming that old posture she used to have with him before. The one in which it looked like she could barely stand him._

_That was why snarling her lips and lifting her chin, she eyed him with contempt. "What the hell are you doing here?"_

_Pushing the inside of his cheek with the tip of his tongue, the blue-eyed man tilted his head a bit up and shrugged. "Not much, just passing by to ask why the bloody hell are you evading me."_

_Groaning in annoyance because yes, ten days of seclusion helped her land back on her feet after finding out that he was her soulmate, the Queen set her eyes on him._

_"Don't be over yourself, thief, I'm not evading you."_

_Only that she was, and considering the fact that she started doing that after they had sex, she wasn't surprised why he was calling her out for it._

_It has been a jerk move from her part, yes, she knew it. But hell, she freaked out, one look at the tattoo in his arm was all it took for all of her senses to go in full panic mode._

_That she didn't run right off the bat was a miracle in itself, but she guessed she was too shocked to react accordingly. Well, that and the fact that he has been buried deep inside of her when she saw the tattoo._

_"Oh, so we're back at you calling me thief?"_

_Arching an eyebrow and sitting in a chair near her bed, Regina crossed her legs._

_Blinking a couple of times, Robin laced his fingers together and kept his eyes on hers._

_"So…"_

_"I'm busy,_ _Robin_ _…" She said, making his name stand out to demonstrate to herself, if not him, that nothing in him affected her. It was hard though, because one thing was deciding not to think about him when he was far, and another, to keep with that resolution when he was eye to eye with her. Sure, it was also hard in other aspects, so why not admit it? It was especially tricky because he was looking so good. "So go ahead and tell me whatever you came to say."_

_"Why are you evading me?" He fired, balancing at the edge of the chair._

_"I'm not."_

_"Really, so this thing of not putting foot outside your bedchambers for almost a fortnight is not you evading me?"_

_"It's not. Believe it or not, I have many things going on other than obsessing over a one-night stand with you. My sister, for instance."_

_Humming low in his throat, Robin's eyes narrowed and for a while, he did nothing but to stare at her._

_It unnerved her, so she clenched her jaw. "Are you done? Because I wish to be left alone now."_

_"You know? For being the so called_ _Evil Queen_ , _you are such a terrible liar."_

_Feeling called out and for some reason getting upset about it, the Queen got to her feet and pointed her finger at him. "And you are an impertinent asshole, now get out."_

_Not even a bit shaken by her outburst, Robin got to his feet as well. "What are you so afraid of?"_

_"Afraid? What makes you think I'm afraid of anything here?" She chuckled, even if she was feeling everything but amused._

_"I don't know, so why don't you let me know. Tell me what made you put your walls way up to your nose again… because last time I saw you, this was definitely not how you acted with me. In fact-"_

_"Well last time I wanted sex." She cut him off, lifting her arms and then letting them fall back to her sides. "That's what changed. I got what I wanted and that's about it. It wasn't even that deep so please, get a grip."_

_That seemed to throw him back a little, Regina saw it in the way he halted on his tracks and his expression dropped._

_It made her stomach sink, but still, she kept on._

_"And don't you go putting that face because it was the same for you… hell, you wouldn't have even looked my way if it wasn't because I proposed the sex thing so yeah, consider it a bonus… a treat, if you will, since I wouldn't have gone for if it wasn't because I was… needy."_

_Lifting a hand to his cheek and scratching over his stubble almost absentmindedly, Robin fixed his eyes somewhere to the roof._

_"Just sex then… alright, so if it was only that, then why are you so pressed about it?"_ _Moving his eyes back to hers, he smirked, almost cheekily… the bastard._

_"Oh I'm not pressed about it."_

_"No?" He walked to her, slow but the glint in his eyes letting her know his intent._

_"What are you doing?"_

_"Nothing… I'll just kiss you, you know… since I have the_ _need_ _. It's not that deep."_

_Her eyes widened and her lips parted, meaning to tell him a big oh hell no. But much as it happened last time those blue eyes were on her, digging so deep, she was rendered speechless._

_She just watched him getting closer and closer until his hand was curled at the back of her head and his mouth was hovering over hers… basically just a breath away._

_"Any objection? No? Alright?"_

_Pulling her closer, he kissed her, trespassing into her mouth immediately, tongue swirling and sweeping around hers._

_It was definitely not what should be happening, so humming against his lips, Regina tried to tell him off. But the thing was, that the way in which he was kissing her, so nice and deep, never gave her any ground to clear her mind and put an end to it._

_She just let it be, and with her hands resting on his chest, she began to kiss him back, tentatively at first and then letting go completely._

_It amazed herself, because during her self-imposed seclusion, she had come up with a thousand reasons why she should never let desire get the best of her when it came to Robin, and yet there she was…_

_Not even five minutes into seeing him, and her mind completely gave into going along this path. It was as if her brain was ready to simply disregard everything she came to terms with._

_For a while they just kissed, nothing more, hands venturing here and there but nothing too forward. But after a while, he apparently wanted to take things to a new level so he lifted her off the ground to place her over the vanity._

_"Wait…" Her intentions were to tell him to stop, or maybe to gather herself a little… but instead she reached down and took off his shirt._

_He let her do it, his eyes shining on hers as ran her hands from his chest to his stomach._

_Why was she doing that? She wasn't sure, but she definitely took pleasure in the way she felt his muscles tense under her touch._

_"Damn it, Regina… don't you see what you do to me?" He mumbled darkly against her lips as he dragged his hands up her thighs so that he could squeeze her body to his._

_Pressing her forehead to his and letting out a humorless chuckle, the Queen closed her eyes. "It's not real… whatever it is you think I'm doing to you."_

_And it wasn't. No, whatever pull they could feel towards each other was just the result of the damn soulmate thing…_

_It was an illusion from her part, maybe a way to make herself feel better about the fact that there had been a chance for her. As for him? Who knew, but he could_ _not be genuinely drawn to her._

_She was the Evil Queen and he was Robin Hood, and that was a match that wouldn't make sense if it wasn't because Tinkerbell said so…_

_Or was it? Because realistically speaking, he didn't know about that and he was still there; same way that she hadn't known about their connection when she decided to go after him like she did._

_"It isn't?" The blue-eyed man accommodated himself between her legs and crushed his trapped erection to her groin, grinding against her until he was aching with need. "You think_ _that's_ _not real?"_

_He didn't let her respond, instead, he moved his lips to hers so he could go back to kissing her._

_Shaking her head away from his lips but without pushing him away, Regina bit her lips and rolled her eyes. "That's sex… which proves my point about what this is."_

_At her words, Robin snorted, his fingers kneading her inner thighs, almost to the point where his knuckles were brushing against her crotch. "Well, isn't that what you wanted, just sex?"_

_She thought about it, half her brain telling her that it couldn't just be sex with him, not now that she knew who he really was, while the other part wanted her to go ahead with it._

_She was a smart woman, she could differentiate lust from other things, so as long as she recognized it as just sex, there was no harm on it, right?_

_'It's dangerous!'_

_A voice from the inner most part of her being yelled at her._

_It was clear as day, how bad this could turn to. After all, she was not in a good place in her life. With Henry lost and the menace of her sister hanging over her head, the last thing she needed was to get attached to this man. But at the same time, she couldn't spend an eternity locked up in her room evading him, so why not use this as an opportunity to prove the whole pixie thing wrong._

_It could be just sex, and even if it was going to be good, it didn't have to mean much. He had been her chance of doing something good out of her life once, but he wasn't anymore._

_No, she had come to terms in the past few days when it came to this. Henry had been her real chance at redemption, and Robin could be just… a good lay._

_"Take off your pants." She said before she could change her mind._

_Robin blinked slowly; his mouth partially opening as his eyes danced over her face. "Well, there may be a little problem with that."_

_With that said, he fixed his eyes on hers and began to untie her robe, working on the silky fabric until it hung open by her sides. Regina just watched him, letting him go as far as he wanted._

_He was testing her, she knew it. "What problem?"_

_Smiling that infuriatingly charming dimple smile of his, he lowered his head and traced with his tongue a warm path that slowly led his mouth all the way from her shoulders to that vulnerable spot in her neck, the one where her pulse was beating unsteadily. Once there, he pulled at her skin with his teeth and sucked it into his mouth._

_"I don't do_ _just_ _sex."_

_Well, that was going to be a problem, she thought as he molested her flesh with his tongue and teeth. But instead of saying that it was too bad that he couldn't just settle with that she could offer, the Queen just threw her head back to give him more space to work._

_"I also don't like this thing of you evading me… or putting these walls all around you. I want to see -_ _you-_ _, Regina…"_

_Unable to simply ignore his last comment, the infamous ruler swallowed on dry. She had to be honest to him, as she didn't want to make a mess out of this. So with that in mind, she decided to lay her cards on the table. "I don't have… anything else to offer, and there's nothing here to see."_

_Feeling the way in which he pulled away, Regina sucked in a shaky breath as one of her hands was placed on his forearm._

_He was going to leave, she just knew it, and she wasn't sure if she should feel gutted or relieved._

_Judging by the way in which she held him, she was afraid that what she felt was a strange sensation of impending lost and no, it shouldn't be like that, she couldn't let herself feel it, as she knew very well in her mind that should be relieved._

_It was better if he left now, as it would be devastating afterwards… for him to leave in horror after knowing destiny cursed him with a broken, deranged soulmate._

_"I find that very hard to believe. That there's nothing else to offer or to see."_

_"There isn't." She whispered and God, why did her voice come out so small?_

_"We'll see about that."_

_Instead of letting her respond, Robin moved his lips back to hers and pushing his tongue into her mouth, he started to kiss her anew._

_Regina responded at once, her tongue meeting his halfway while he pushed harder into her. They kissed for a while like that, his hands moving along her spine and up into her hair._

_"Robin..." She mumbled weakly, it was supposed to be a warning, but her voice came out in a broken gasp that she quickly regretted._

_At her low tone, the archer pulled his face away from hers so that he could stare into the warm chocolate of her eyes._

_It was a thing hard to explain, but having him look at her through those blue orbs that were filled with so much, was hypnotic, and it made her wonder if it would really be that bad… to give in, to hand him the reins and let him take her whenever the hell he wanted to take her._

_"You want me to go?" He asked in a breath, getting near once again to kiss her full on her mouth. "I'll go if that's what you really want."_

_Not knowing what to say because she honestly didn't know anything anymore, Regina settled her hands on his shoulder._

_It took her three long seconds to send it all to hell, to push it all aside and just follow her instinct._

_She didn't say anything though, but she did wrap her arms around his neck and kissed him as deep as she could._

_Maybe it was wrong and she would regret it a thousand times in the morning, but right now she was going to have this._

_Reciprocating her efforts, Robin sneaked his hand to her waist and started pulling her panties down her legs; he dragged them along, lifting her from the vanity to slide them down her legs._

_With that out of the way, he ran his fingers down her tights, making a stop to caress behind her knees and then taking his time with her calves._

_He took his time with that, his eyes following the progress of his fingers over her smooth skin._

_"You are stunning."_

_"You know I'm not." Regina said rolling her eyes as Robin grabbed her hips to pull her to him. At the motion, her bare groin made contact with his erection and she hissed._

_Even though he was still wearing pants, he felt hard and promising, so the liquid heat between her legs definitely appreciated the contact._

_"Yes you are… and you know it. You played that on me… and look where that got us. But as nice as this is, or how it feels, that's not why I came here tonight."_

_Closing her eyes as his voice did all kinds of things to her, Regina hummed because… well, because she would be damned to hell, but the reality of it all was that despite everything, she wanted him real bad and as long as she could sense that he shared the same desire, she was going to have a hard time staying away._

_That should have been her cue to stop it…_

_"Are you going to take this off or what?" She breathed the words out, reaching down between their bodies so that she could free his erection from its bondage._

_Taking the hint, the outlaw took over and started to peel off the rest of his clothes. He did it quickly, tossing it all away._

_"Better?"_

_"Yes." She mumbled, pressing her forehead against his as her hands slid to his shoulders and then to the nape of his neck._

_"What I said, I meant it. Are we clear in that?" He asked, getting closer until his erection was brushing against her, skin to skin._

_To be honest, Regina wasn't sure what he actually meant as he has said so many things, but still, closing her eyes, she pressed her lips back to his._

_There were no thoughts about soulmates or tattoos, and definitely not of regrets, she just focused in the moment they were living._

_That's why she kissed him quiet and having him kiss her back, Regina buried her fingers into his hair. For a few prolonged secondsz they kisswd passionately, the tip of his erection rubbing insistently against her entrance._

_It was almost there, a push away from breaking in._

_The feeling was divine. He felt so strong and hard against her that she was burning with desire, and she had to use all her willpower not to give that single pull at him that would make him sink deep within her._

_"I want you. Right here, right now." She said in a growl as his hands slid to her breast, touching her freely as he breathed heavily against her lips. "Are we clear in that?"_

_At her mimicked words, Robin snorted. "You're really something else, Regina. It's alright tough… I'm patient… and fortunately, I know how to speak your language."_

_"My language?" Unable to help it, she frowned._

_"Your language…" With that said, he lowered his mouth to her jaw, raining kisses down the column of her neck and then straight to her collarbone. "This one."_

_He dwelled there only for a second, then, before she could even blink, he was going down and down until he was suddenly worrying her breast with his mouth, his tongue running flat over the hard peak or her nipple..._

_He played a little with her, making her close her eyes in appreciation._

_"Mmm."_

_"See how can we understand each other like this… face to face? There's no need to hide."_

_Humming, the Queen was about to tell him she didn't do hiding, but then he stopped with her breast and moved even lower, down her ribcage and her navel… after that, she was irrevocably lost to him…_

XxXxXxX

They've swept the entire area, looking everywhere they could lay their eyes upon and then a little bit more. Through the trees, behind the bushes, along a small stream that ran across the woods… basically, they searched everywhere.

But strange as it sounded, it was as if the more they looked, the less their chances of finding something became.

It was a bit of a strange thing, considering he had spent half his life either tracking or covering for his own tracks, but once David and company arrived so they could help in the search, the tracks suddenly disappeared.

All of them, including the ones he and Regina had been following.

Like the monkey itself, everything just puffed out of existence and now there was nothing left.

"You think whoever is behind this made the tracks disappear?"

Tilting his head to the side so that he could take a look at the man who just spoke, Robin Hood blew out a deep breath.

"If I had to take a wild guess, I would say yes. I mean there's no other explanation. They were here, just as that flying monkey and now they are not."

Groaning, David ran a hand down his face, the tiredness on his features more than visible. It was probably the same look he was sporting, because all of them have been at it for a while.

"Man, I swear that each day, this gets more and more crazy. I don't even know what else to expect."

Unable to help it, Robin snorted because yes, he could definitely relate to that statement. At least considering that ever since he woke up in Storybrooke a few weeks ago, things have been going from bizarre to bizarro.

"So the monkey, it came straight to attack you?"

Pushing the inside of his cheek with the tip of his tongue, Robin looked over his shoulder so that he could take a quick glance at Regina, his eyes taking on the way she was still looking awfully pale as she sat with Snow, the two women palavering in hushed voices as if they were trading secrets.

"It did… we were… we didn't see it coming at first… I think it was hiding up into the trees, and then it came straight for Regina."

Now, he was obviously not going to blurt out that the reason why the vile creature took them by surprise was because they have been too engrossed snogging in the middle of the woods, but he guessed it was safe to tell the rest.

"Yeah, she seems pretty shaken up… which is kind of strange since Regina is not the kind to scare so easily."

Robin's eyes were still on the Queen as David said that, but guessing he had been stealing glances her way too much, he looked somewhere else.

"I don't think she's scared… it's more like she's not feeling so well."

At least that was what she told him, that she was feeling sick to her stomach and well, keeping in mind that she was pregnant, he chose to trust her word for it.

"Yeah… that seems to be happening a lot too. Another odd thing since I can't remember her even getting even a cold. But now she's fainting and is all shaken up… and has my wife all over her…"

Twisting his lips, Robin just limited himself into raising both eyebrows as he looked into the other man's questioning eyes.

He knew what he was doing, and he was not going to fall for it.

"Do you happen to know what's going on? I mean… you are spending quite a lot of time with her, aren't you?"

Shrugging, Robin bit his lips. "Stress? There's a lot going on around here and well, it seems like the entire town has a kick of pinning it all to her. Then there's the thing with her boy and now the flying monkey so I don't know, take your pick. All I know is that it's getting quite late… so shall we leave this for another moment, say tomorrow? I can come by with some of my men and check the east side of these woods."

Narrowing his eyes, David hummed, but then he was patting his shoulder and agreeing with him. They would come back tomorrow, because he'll be damned if he was going to let this wicked witch or whoever she or he was, to keep undercover.

As David gathered the people who came with him, Robin walked straight towards Regina, lowering down until he was crouching in front of both her and Snow.

"Are you feeling better?"

With her lips pursed and her chin tilting up a little, the Queen rolled her eyes in full annoyed mode. "I'm great."

"She isn't, but she's too stubborn to admit it."

"I don't think he was asking you." Regina replied and damn, Robin just widened his eyes and sent Snow a supportive glance.

Opening her mouth as if too reply but then closing it back shut, Snow White snorted and turned fully towards him. "You know what? She's all yours, I'm too hormonal to deal with her when she's like this."

With that said, Snow stood up and left, leaving Robin and Regina on their own.

"We're calling it quits for today, it will get dark soon, so keeping up with the search is pointless."

"Ok." Regina said, not elaborating more and definitely not looking at him, she just set her jaw and blinked impatiently a couple of times.

Sensing that she was trying to give him the cold shoulder after what happened between them earlier, Robin licked his lips… his mind calling him for the idiot that he was for being surprised at this.

What has he been expecting? For the woman to simply throw her arms around him and kiss him now that they were back alone? No… what he should have foreseen was for her to try and put her walls high up to her chin all over again.

She was trying to push him away as swiftly as she pulled him in.

Well, what she didn't know, was that he was not about to let her do that. She could be stubborn, but so was him.

"Come on, I'll walk you home." He said, placing a hand to her knee and completely ignoring the snarl of her lips as he did so.

"I have a car, I don't need to be _walked_." Saying that, she grabbed his hand and pushed it off from where it lay over her knee.

The whole thing made Robin scoff, because really, this woman was going to be the end of him. Earlier on she was not only kissing him but also all over him, touching him and letting him touch her in ways that were far too intimate to be easily brushed aside so yes, it was confusing.

He wasn't on it for the push and pull games, as that was not his style. He was more of the kind that wanted something and went for it without looking back, so this whatever it was that she was doing was not settling well with him. But if playing along was what it took to reach to her, then so be it.

He was that drawn to her, and after getting to feel she was not completely immune to him, he wasn't going to just leave with the tail between his legs.

With that settled in his mind, he got up to his feet, his hold on the crossbow adjusting to his other hand. "Alright, then I'll ride along with you."

"You don't have to do that. You're closer to your camp from here than you would be from town… so…"

"I don't mind the walk; I want to make sure you get safe to your door."

Regina finally looked at him, her eyes dark and mysterious. "And I would rather you didn't… do that."

Her walls were now way pass her chin, they were up to the top of her head. He saw it in the way she was tensing both her jaw and her shoulders, and in how her eyes refused to stay on him for too long. So, wanting to make her feel at ease, he took a step back.

"Look, I don't mean anything more than to make sure you get back home safely. That flying monkey was aiming for you and for all we know, there could be others."

"I'm not entirely defenseless, you know?"

"I know." Robin watched as she got up, her chin lifting almost defiantly… as if he was the enemy she needed to guard herself from. "But it will make me feel a hell of a lot better to make sure. Besides-" He sighed, knowing this was a cheap shot. "My son wouldn't mind if you were kind enough to share with him one or two of those little cake-cup-things."

There, he saw her posture relax a little and he almost smiled. It was wrong… yes, but he had known that would work. Of the little he had gathered, he could tell that the so-called Evil Queen had a soft spot for children and he happened to have a very cute one.

"Cupcakes."

Not able to help it, he smiled because damn, the woman was stunning even when she looked like she wanted to murder him. "Yeah, those ones."

Sucking in a deep breath and then letting it blow hard through her mouth, Regina eyed him briefly. "Ok, but you'll just get the cupcakes and leave. I want to lay down, and I don't want to chit-chat in the car either, got it?"

"Crystal clear."

It was that way, that they made it back to her house, in complete silence. The subject of the kiss and heavy make out session floating in the air. Then, when they arrived, she went into the house on her own and left him by the door, uninvited.

When she came out, she was carrying some sort of bag that she quickly put in his arms. "There you go, you have enough cupcakes to feed your entire camp. Just try not to let your son eat them all at once. They've got too much sugar and could make him a little hyper."

"He doesn't need to be any more hyper, he's quite lively as it is."

The corner of her mouth turned up a little in what looked like the phantom of a smile. That was the moment Robin took to lean forward and kiss her.

Just a little peck, because as soon as she realized what he was doing, she moved her face away.

"Don't do that." She said, her voice low and kind of throaty.

"What, kiss you?"

Her hand went to the top of her head to smooth her hair, then, she let it drop.

"Listen, I think you got the wrong idea about what happened back at the woods. I… we shouldn't have…"

Before she could go on, Robin put the bag down and then he went and helped himself into grabbing her face to kiss her again, pressing his mouth to hers with enough force to make it feel like a real kiss and not just their lips brushing.

He didn't deepen it though, he just lingered until he made her soften a little.

"What are you doing?" She asked when he broke away, but even though her tone came a little harsh and her hands came to rest over his chest as if to push him off, she just remained still.

"Well…" His hands slid around her waist, pulling her closer until she ended up flushed against him. "I thought you were going to tell me to bugger off so I had to stop you."

There was a deep long sigh puffing out of her mouth, her eyes closing for a few seconds. "This is wrong."

Seeing no resolution in her, Robin kissed the tip of her nose. "It feels right to me."

Snorting, she shook her head, her eyes casted down. "Of course it does…"

Not minding the sarcasm on her words and focusing on how her body gravitated towards him, Robin kissed her closed eyelids, her cheek and then the corner of her mouth.

"It doesn't for you, feel right?"

If he wasn't mistaken, she shivered, and if anything, that made him move his hands to her hips and then to her lower back.

"It's not about how it feels. I'm human okay, and what runs through my veins is blood and not ice… so of course it's going to feel good if you kiss me... or touch me… I mean, I haven't done this in a _long_ while."

He nudged at her lips, leaving a kiss there before backing off enough to look into her eyes.

"Well, apparently it hasn't been so much of a long time…" He moved his hands to her stomach, his palms caressing that special place where a new life was growing. "How far along are you? Can't be much."

Snorting, she blinked, her eyes set on his hands.

"Look, I don't want or even pretend to force something out of this. But Regina, I think it's pretty obvious there is something going on here and no, I'm not talking about the missing year, I'm talking about here and now. If this is only on me then fine, I'll step back and keep it to myself. But if it isn't, don't you think we should dig a bit more into it? So tell me, is it only me?"

Her hands slid to his shoulders, and he took the chance to move his ups to cup her face. "This isn't a good time… Robin, there's so much going on."

"That was not the question."

She blew off a breath, her eyes blinking several times. She was struggling with her answer, so wanting to give her a push, he kissed her.

It was slow at first, his tongue searching for hers so that they could touch, swirling, caressing, exploring… and all he gave, she gave it back.

That was all the answer he needed it, so indulging on her for a little longer, he kissed her long and deep.

When he was done, her cheeks were a little flushed and her eyes closed. "Can I come back tomorrow evening? We'll talk… just that. No pressures."

She shook her head, but then she was chuckling. "Oh I'm so going to regret this."

Robin smiled, kissing her yet another time. "No you won't, you'll see."

She hummed, as if she didn't believe it, but after one last kiss, she kind of smiled back at him.

It was with that image that he went away, a silly grin plastered on his face as he made his way back to camp. He was in his own little bubble… so much that when someone suddenly called for him, he was a little surprised.

"Excuse me, sir?"

Following the sound of the voice, Robin turned around, suddenly watching as he was being approached by a tall redhead.

She was smiling what he would later classify as a fake smile, and when she talked, her voice dripped with a bitter sweetness he came to distrust at once.

"Hi." She said, her piercing blue eyes digging into his.

It hit him them and there, that he had seen this woman before, and when he was able to put it together, he tensed.

"Hi." He said back, his tone neutral… all his senses on alert.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but I am new in town and I got a little lost. Do you happen to know where is this dinner called Granny's?"

Knowing at once that she didn't recognize him as the thief the Dark One sent to steal from her, Robin tried to force out a smile. "Sure, keep walking down this very same street and then you'll see it to your right."

She beamed, as if he just revealed the secret to a treasure. "Good, I've heard so many good things from it. Is that where you were headed to?"

"No… I was actually going to another place."

"A place better than Granny's? Huh, now I wonder where that could be."

His eyes narrowed a little, as if he was trying to read into the woman's intentions, but probably sensing his distrust, she giggled… another fake gesture.

"Sorry if I'm intruding, like I said, I'm new around here and I don't know my way around yet. I came with the last curse… completely missed the first one."

He nodded, tight-lipped about how he was in the same predicament. If he wasn't mistaken and he doubted he was, this was the Wicked Witch and she was trying to fish for something.

"Granny is the best place to go then, food is good and you can even get a room."

"Lovely. I'm Zelena by the way. You are…?"

"Robin." He left it there, no last name as she didn't offer one.

"Well, Robin…" She purred, lifting a hand and touching his chest in a very forward move. "I certainly hope to see more of you around."

With that said, she bit her lips suggestively and then left. Walking down the street and heading straight towards the dinner.

"Well shit." Running a hand through his hair, the bowman looked back to the road that led to Regina's. It took a second for him to decide that he couldn't go there, first because he didn't want the Wicked Witch to follow him and second, because he didn't want to disturb her.

She was tired, she needed to lay down and he was sure that going there and telling her what happened would make her want to go straight to this woman and confront her.

That wouldn't be smart so he was going to leave Regina rest that night.

However, he did need to alert someone, so taking in a deep breath, he put his legs in motion and started to walk down the street…


	10. Chapter 10

She shouldn't be thinking about Robin Hood.

No, she really shouldn't, she shouldn't even want to. But the thing was that ever since she woke up that morning, the man and everything he represented had plain and simple infiltrated into her brain, and as hard as she tried to ban him, he stubbornly remained there. Invading her psyche, taking over her every thought, and seeping into her pores to spread all over her as if he was a tangible thing running through her veins.

It was all just… overwhelming, and laying in bed with the memory of him bouncing inside her head, a damn torture.

At first, he had been somehow easy to ignore because as soon as the memory of him would try to tiptoe into her head, she would just close her eyes as hard as she could and try her best to think of something else.

Henry, for example, and yes, for a while he had been the perfect excuse to keep the man out of her mind. She had milked the distraction for all it was worth it; after all, her son was her biggest concern at the moment and her number one priority, so she easily diverted her thoughts from Robin and straight into finding a way to get back into his life.

But, as it always happened when it came to the boy, thinking about him got too painful and there came a time when her inability to see him and touch him became a heavy burden that wanted to rip her apart.

That's when she decided to switch her thoughts, focusing instead on figuring out what the hell was going on in town.

That was also when her mind started to really betray her.

Sure, there were curses, flying monkeys and a rare case of Rumpel and Neal being one and the same to keep her mind busy for a while. There was also the so-called Wicked Witch to think about, but the only thing musing about the mysterious woman did for her was make her go back in memory lane to remember how out of control things got with Robin while they were supposedly tracking her down.

One minute she was trying to pick and poke into her brain to see if she could find out anything that could help them catch the witch, and the next thing she knew, her treacherous mind was back to thinking about how good it felt to have the man kiss her senseless in the middle of the woods.

How he, like the thief that he was, stole all of her common sense and made her resolution crumble down to her feet.

The transition from one thought to the other was so smooth she barely even noticed, but once it was there and apparently with no intention to go, she realized how embarrassing it was to recall all the things she did there.

It was... God... she basically assaulted him. She sent everything to hell and went for him like a predator over its prey. She kissed him and touched him like she hadn't done with anyone in ages and it had been… mind-blowing, in a way liberating… but also so, so ridiculously embarrassing.

She barely knew him so what did her actions say about her? What would he think? That she was desperate? Needy? That she jumped people just like that?

Or maybe, just maybe… he didn't even give it a thought because he had heard things...

Yes, she knew she had quite a reputation in the Enchanted Forest and there was a bit of truth in some of the rumors people liked to spread. There was also a lot of exaggeration as well, but there had been indeed a time when getting what she wanted, when she wanted, was as simple as breathing.

Hell, back then, what she did with Robin would be considered just an appetizer, and she wouldn't be giving it so much thought.

But the thing was, that she was not that woman anymore. After three decades of living what could be considered a very mundane existence, she was more in control and her head was very well put. So the way she acted in the woods was more than questionable to the person she had become.

She only had to remember the ease in which she let herself be carried away to cringe and feel a heat rise up to her face. But at the same time, the more she remembered, the more her reactions would change in nature.

Because yes, she touched him without a care in the world, and yes, she drowned into his kiss and got drunk with his scent with an amateur ease that made her feel embarrassed, but she also had to remember that everything she did, he returned in kind.

There had been no reproach in him and he definitely hadn't been thrown off by her needy actions. Quite the contrary, as he immediately took the ball from her and ran with it.

It had been endearing… how quickly he took over, touching, kissing and making her feel more alive than what she had ever felt.

Just thinking about it made her shiver, and now, instead of trying to push the thoughts aside, she let them sweep through her, her eyes closing while her mind took a one hundred and eighty degrees turn.

Robin…

He was bold, she had to give it to him. There were not many men that would dare pull the things he did without being intimidated by who she was and she liked that. It was a nice surprise but yes, it was also a bit infuriating, as he didn't even give her time to put her mind in the right place before he was at it again, and when it came to keep her composure, that was a very bad thing.

Taking in a deep breath, the brunette woman rolled to her back and placed a hand to her stomach, feeling around and trying to detect if there was a change there. There was not much, just a slight rise in her belly that could mean anything, from her eating a large meal, to bloating and yes, to that first stage of a pregnancy.

Keeping her eyes closed and her fingers running in lazy circles over her stomach, Regina wondered if this was how he made her feel during the missing year, how she let herself be dragged into whatever kind of relationship they had. It wouldn't surprise her, because if it hadn't been for the flying monkey's awful timing, she would have let things get as far as they had to go with Robin.

Feeling a slight throb settle right between her legs, Regina wondered… yes, she did. She wondered how it would have felt to keep kissing him until her lips were raw, and how it would have felt to take off his shirt and run her hands through the hardness of his chest and shoulders... how it would have felt to completely give in.

Hissing, the still half sleepy woman shook her head, knowing she wouldn't have survived going all the way with Robin with her pride intact. She would have definitely become a mess. Just with what happened, she had been a trembling disaster in his arms, so imagine going further.

Not that there had been anything light about what they did, as his hand had been into her pants, his fingers going down her underwear and into her, touching her, making her feel delirious…

"I can't believe I let him do that." She said to no one in particular, but thinking that she also couldn't believe how she went ahead and did some touching herself.

Feeling her cheeks go aflame with the memory of her fingers wrapping over the hard velvet of his erection, Regina allowed her hand to slide from her stomach to the edge of her panties, the tip of her forefingers tracing over the fabric.

Yes, she touched him, and it felt good, even empowering to know he had been all hot and bothered because of her. 

Humming, she let her hand go lower, sliding underneath the fabric of her panties just so that she could have a quick feel. It was just one finger, and she let it move between her folds as her legs automatically spread a bit more. It made her shiver, that finger making contact with her clit to then move past it, and it also surprised her a little to find herself so wet and swollen.

But no, this was something she wasn't going to indulge in so pulling her hand away, she opened her eyes and forced herself out of bed.

Robin and whatever the hell happened between them was something she shouldn't be thinking about, let alone giving her body permission to feel aroused by it so no… just no.

With that in mind, she took a long cold-shower that somehow helped her gather her brains and then she went to make herself some breakfast. No coffee, as the mere thought of the dark liquid that used to infuse her with life all her mornings made her stomach turn and revolt now.

It was as she was finishing, that she casually looked out of her kitchen's window and saw it, a huge man with curly hair standing in front of her house.

He had a crossbow ready to use, thing that made all of her senses stand on alert. But instead of trying a way into her house as one would believe a man that wanted to take her down would do, he was with his back to her entrance, as if he was somehow standing guard.

Frowning and keeping her eyes on him, she finished in her kitchen before going up into her bedroom to change and make herself presentable. Then, she was walking out her door and marching straight towards the man.

"What do you think you are doing here?" She hissed, making him turn to her immediately.

One look was all it took her to realize he was harmless, so she relaxed her clenched fists.

"I'm… um, keeping an eye for the Wicked Witch?"

Arching an eyebrow, Regina snarled her lips a little. "Outside of my house? Why, you think she's coming over for tea or something?" Unable to help it, she let out a dry chuckle. "Get out of here before I start to get really mad."

Sucking in a breath, the man shook his head. "Nah, I can't do that… I mean I know you are the Evil Queen and all that, but-"

"Evil Queen?" And just who the hell did the man think he was? Talking to her like that... "Show some respect… or at least some restraint at the buffet."

"Well I'm not sure what is a buffet, but I'm afraid I'll have to stand guard here until Robin says otherwise."

Her brows furrowed and her heart halted for a few seconds at the mention of the thief. "Robin?"

"Yes, he asked me to stay here until they could figure out how to proceed with the witch now that they know who she is and that… well, she seems to have a particular interest in you."

Blinking slowly, Regina tried to register in her mind what the man said. "They found the Wicked Witch?"

"Yes, Robin figured it out as soon as he saw her. The bloke is amazing when it comes to remembering faces."

Scoffing, the former Queen pushed the inside of her cheek with the tip of her tongue, her brain going in circles over the fact that Robin found the witch and he… he didn't tell her?

If anything, that made her mood turn to acrid in a matter of nothing, and she actually had to take a hold herself not to take it out against this... whatever his name was standing in front of her.

"Where do you say Robin is right now?"

"He went back to Snow White's-"

Oh he was going to have it. Shaking her head, the woman lifted her hands, swirled her wrist and in a puff of purple smoke, she transported herself into the Charming's living room.

"Jesus, Regina!" Snow White almost yelled the moment she appeared there, one hand dramatically going to her chest and her doe eyes going as wide as they could go. "You scared the hell out of me."

Forcing a smile that probably came out a little wicked, the brunette looked around, taking notice that Emma, The Charmings, Captain eyeliner and yes, Robin, were all there.

She looked away from the last one, as she didn't want to go off on him in front of everyone… but God, she did want to tell him a thing or two...

"Am I interrupting your little reunion?" Arching an eyebrow, she took the liberty of sitting on the sofa, right by Hook's side as he scratched furiously down his throat. She leaned back, crossing her legs and pouting, almost daring for anyone to speak. "Am I?"

One second passed, then another and she impatiently waited to see who would be the first to talk.

"There is no interruption, we… well, we found the Wicked Witch and were trying to figure out how to proceed now."

Ah, Robin… of course. It didn't surprise her, but it did piss her off.

"And in all this secret planning you were doing, did it ever occur to any of you to inform me of this?"

Sighing and walking to her, Snow chuckled almost nervously. "Of course we did, we just… wanted to let you rest. You had a rough day yesterday."

Clenching her jaw at such a pathetic excuse, she nodded. "Okay, I am rested now so tell me where the witch is so I can finish with this already."

"We are not going to do that." Emma said. "She doesn't know that we know, so we are going to approach in a different manner."

"What, you'll talk her into boredom as you are doing with me right now? Or you intend to sit with her and play that little shitty trick where you pretend to know when people are lying."

"Well maybe we will, maybe we already started while you were taking your beauty sleep."

"Really, and since you are here talking instead of acting, I'm going to take a wild guess and say that didn't work much."

"Actually it did. We know she has an interest in you, and an even bigger one in Robin."

Unable to help it, Regina looked at the man, the brown of her eyes meeting with the blue of his for a second. They looked apologetic, almost mortified and for some reason, that made her scoff. "Does she, now?"

"Regina-" Robin started to say and lifting a hand in his direction, she shook her head and looked away.

"Don't you even talk to me."

"Okay so why don't we take a moment to breath here. Regina, we were not trying to keep you in the dark when it came to do this, but like I said, we wanted to let you rest because we will probably need you to be top of your game and well… given the circumstances… and all that's happening, you did need the rest."

"I need to have my son back more than I need my rest."

"It was because of your child that I thought it was best you slept this one off, so if you are going to be mad at someone, let it be me, but I don't think I was in the wrong."

Her eyes widened because she knew very well he wasn't talking about Henry but of her unborn baby, and as she realized, she just had to look back at him, their eyes locking fiercely.

"And you really thought that was your call?"

Lifting a hand and then letting it fall to his lap, he shrugged. "I don't know, but I made it."

"As much as I enjoy this back and forth, I think I'm going to leave. The Wicked Witch, the lack of memories and all of this mess is basically not my problem, so, I'm out."

Saying nothing more, Hook got to his feet and left.

"Asshole." Emma said in a hiss.

"I can't believe you called him before calling me."

"Okay, back to what's important." David said at last. "Let's sum this up for Regina's benefit. Robin found Zelena, who may I add is the Wicked Witch. She basically walked to him last night and asked him a few things. He recognized her, played along and gave her directions to go to Granny's. Now, once in there, she went talking around with people, asking questions, mostly about you and yes, I know because I was there and she asked me if I knew where to find you. So that makes us believe that it's you, Regina, the one she made all this mess for. Are you sure you didn't do anything to piss her off?"

Rolling her eyes, Regina groaned. "I don't even know her so yes, I am sure I didn't do anything to her. At least not that I remember."

"Well, she knows you, that's for sure. She also took an interest in Robin."

"More like he fancies him, so using this opportunity, I think it's obvious we need him to try and find out whatever he can about her."

Looking at Emma through half closed eyes, Regina tilted her face to the side. "What do you mean by that?"

"That if he is willing, we can have him play along, he can feed her the info we think she should be fed, while he gets in return the info we need."

Regina scoffed, not quite believing Emma's plan. She wanted to use Robin as bait… and have him what, enamour the witch?

Hell no!

Turning on her seat so that she could fully face Robin, Regina blinked a couple of times. "And are you willing?"

For some reason, her breathing halted as she waited for his answer.

As for him, he almost did a double take at the question. "I don't… know, sounds a little barmy."

Arching an eyebrow, she turned back to Emma, almost triumphally. "There, he doesn't want to do it, so can you all stop playing around and actually come up with a good plan?"

"A plan like yours? Go to her and what, confront her?"

"Yes. Or is it that you don't want me to do that? I mean I can solve this in a matter of hours and that would mean I can be having lunch today with my son. Oh, but you don't want that, do you?"

Shrugging, Emma rolled her eyes. "We don't have proof she is the one who cursed everybody so no, we can't go to her and start demanding answers. We need to be smart about this."

Seeing through her bullshit, Regina snorted. "You're just unbelievable."

"Okay, let's take another breather. Regina, Emma is right in this one, we can't go to her just like that. I think what we need to do is be on the lookout. We know who she is, we can find out where she is staying and… well, just keep an eye on her. Robin, we don't want you to do anything you don't want, but I don't know, if she approaches you or something, could you simply play along for a little bit?"

"I can't with any of you. You go ahead and play your games, I'll go and find this witch by myself."

Standing up, she made it across the room, the sound of her heels echoing loudly as she moved. When she reached the door, she opened it, walked out and then slammed it as hard as she could.

She was making her way through the hallway when she heard him, and just as her pride told her to do, she ignored him and kept walking.

"Regina, wait."

"I don't want to hear it." She said once he was close enough to grab her elbow to make her stop. He also made her swirl around.

"Come on, you know you wanted me to catch up with you so let's stop pretending."

Snarling her lips at the insolence in which he was digging deep into her eyes, she groaned. "And what the hell makes you think I wanted that."

Clicking his tongue to the roof of his mouth, he shrugged. "If you wanted to really make yourself out of reach, you would have done so by puffing out of that room the same way you came in. But you didn't, you walked out."

Humming, she used her fingers to brush her hair off her shoulders. "Well… I wanted to slam that door. It is satisfying to me."

Sucking in a breath and then blowing it out, Robin nodded, taking one step towards her. It made her automatically back up against the wall. "What about now, the door is slammed… so?"

"Don't you have better things to do in there than bothering me? I mean… you do have to discuss ways to enamour the Wicked Witch, don't you? Oh, but do yourself a favor and try not to get her pregnant as well."

Chuckling, Robin ran a hand down his jaw. "Trust me, I have enough in my plate trying to keep up with you to be thinking about this... Zelena"

"Hmm," She hummed, folding her arms to her chest. "That was not what you were thinking when you decided to leave me behind to follow her around."

Twisting his lips, the man tilted his head to the right, his eyes shining into hers and yes, his body getting a little closer. "You know, if I didn't know any better, I would kind of think you are getting jealous out of this."

Dropping her arms to her sides, Regina laughed an incredulous laugh, her shoulders tensing and her chest feeling a bit heavy. "Don't be ridiculous, thief, I do not do 'jealous', let alone because of a… forest-fart-"

"A what?" Interrupting her lame attempt to insult him, Robin laughed again, apparently not even offended.

"Don't you dare laugh. I'm mad at you. You knew I spent half a day searching for this witch, so the least you should have done was letting me know as soon as you found her."

Lifting a hand to brush a loose strand of hair behind her ear, Robin sighed. "Yes, I could have done that. But to start off, I didn't want to led her straight to your place, as it was my impression she knew I could get back to you and I didn't want her to follow. Second, I wanted you to have some rest. You were not alright last night and I was not going to let this woman ruin whatever rest you could have, not for you and not for the baby."

Blinking slowly, she noticed him getting a little closer and she just had to swallow on dry.

"What about the man you put outside my door?"

"Little John?"

Unable to help her, she scoffed. "Well… he was not so little."

He laughed, low and raspy, his breath brushing against her face. "Yeah, I may have told him to keep guard there."

"I don't need a guard… or people making decisions for me, no matter how right they think they are."

"Okay… fair. Can I kiss you now?"

"What? No…" She chuckled, more out of surprise than anything else. But still, when he pressed a finger to her chin and lifted her face to his, she parted her lips.

"No?" He asked, his face getting so near he could almost feel his mouth on hers. "You sure?"

"Very."

Nodding, he hummed, getting an inch closer… almost there… it made her eyes close and her breath catch...

"Well that's bad." He pulled away. "I didn't quite want to wait until later in the evening to kiss you but that's alright."

Opening her eyes, she cleared her throat. "And what gave you the impression you could kiss me later in the evening."

"Alright so maybe I went a bit ahead of myself with the kissing, but we agreed I would come over to your house later on, no?"

Opening her mouth to reply and then closing it back up, she scoffed. "I don't remember ever agreeing to that. But hey, no worries, maybe you'll get lucky with this Zelena instead. That's if I don't find her first."

Robin bit his lips, his eyes burning into hers. "I don't want to get lucky with her. I kind of have my eyes on a pretty brunette that has me going a bit out of my mind, as she likes to play difficult, so no, I don't have time or eyes for anyone else."

"Hmm, and what is it about this brunette that has you so blinded?"

He smiled, using one hand to rest it over the wall behind her, making her feel trapped in the most interesting way, because now he was close enough for their bodies to touch.

"There are quite a few things. She's stunning, that's the first thing I noticed, but there's also this… force about her that pulls me in. She's like a riddle wrapped in the most beautiful package and I don't know, I want to tear off that veil she uses to hide herself and see what's underneath. She's also a pretty good kisser."

"Oh, I bet she is."

He sucked in a breath, and almost as if he couldn't help it any more, he grabbed her face with his free hand, his mouth slanting over hers so that he could kiss her.

It happened quickly, one second she was staring into those stunning blues of his and then he was kissing her firmly, his tongue breaking past her lips so they could begin that amazing dance they started the day before.

It made her gasp low into his mouth, her hand going to the back of his neck as he moved his into her hair.

It felt good… no, amazing, so pressing a little against him, she made her own tongue move along with his, the two of them engaging in a duel neither one wanted to lose. They just took, tasting, exploring and getting lost into one another… all until there was no breath left in their lungs.

"Yes, definitely a good kisser." He mumbled, pulling a bit away and pecking her lips in what appeared to be a parting kiss. "You know, I couldn't stop thinking about you last night. I barely had any sleep, and when I was finally getting there, my son woke me up at the wee hours of the morning."

Licking her lips, Regina tried to hide the smile that wanted to form in her lips. "Sounds like quite the trouble for just thinking, I slept just fine."

"At least one of us did."

Tilting her head towards his, Regina noticed that he was flashing her way that amazing dimple smile of his and yes, she was about to pull him into another kiss and maybe tell him she thought about him that morning, but before she could do either one of those things, the sound of someone clearing his throat was heard, and when she looked in said direction, she froze.

"Excuse me." The boy said after a quick glance at them, then he gave them a slight nod and walked past them. All of that while Regina felt her heart burst and break at the same time.

It was Henry… her son, and she just walked past her as if she was a stranger… no one...

"Hey, are you alright?"

Blowing out a breath, Regina turned in the direction the boy walked, her hand wanting to reach for him and touch him. She didn't, she just stood in the middle of the corridor, feeling devastated.

"Is that him?"

Feeling his hand on her lower back, Regina swallowed on dry. "He looked right through me. He… just… he doesn't even know who I am."

Walking in front of her, Robin wrapped both arms around her, pulling her into an embrace she didn't quite reciprocate. She just remained there, arms hanging loose as he kissed her hair.

"He will remember you, alright? And we'll figure out how to break this curse, do you hear me?"

She nodded, because yes, she heard; then, when he pressed his mouth to her forehead, she grabbed his face and without thinking it too much, she kissed his mouth.

She did it hard, almost painfully, but when she pulled away, there was nothing but understanding in his eyes. That's when she understood why, this man was her soulmate…


	11. Chapter 11

_Regina wasn't sure when and how this started to happen, but the irremediable truth of her situation was that she just about lost the battle to him..._

_Yes, more than knowing it, she could feel it. In her flaming skin when he touched her, in her heart when it would swell just by the sound of his voice talking into her ear and yes, in her soul, when he would look so deep into her eyes that she was sure he was staring right into the very core of her existence._

_It was a strange sensation, one that was as overwhelming as it was confusing. But now that she could feel it constantly bubbling within her, growing… she knew._

_Sure, it was like nothing she had ever felt before, not even with Daniel, so at first she was baffled by what she was feeling and by how strong it was. But for every day that passed and the more they would interact, the clearer it became._

_It was simple, because that thing that she was feeling, the one that made her think of him at every hour of the day and that would make her count the minutes until she could be with him, resided in the fact that she was in love with Robin Hood._

_Now yes, being the skeptic person that she was, as soon as she felt such emotion erupting within her, she tried not to feel it… to ignore it. But the thing with those kinds of feelings was that once they took residence in you, they would just not go._

_They would only grow, gnawing deeper and deeper until one day, you realized they were as much a part of you as the blood running through your veins._

_Yes, it sounded a little over the top but it was what it was. One day she was sure she was doing it just because the sex was good and the next one, she was watching him in awe as he did something as simple as playing with his son; and she watched them both, she couldn't help but to feel like her heart was so filled with emotions that she was sure it was going to burst._

_It was a pure thing, genuine, and it just... happened out of nowhere, hitting her fast and hard... the feeling little by little seeping through her pores and creeping into her heart until there was nothing else to do but to accept it._

_Was it scary? Yes. Actually, she was as scared as she was smitten, but contrary to what she thought she would do, she was not trying to escape what was going on. Sure, she wasn't screaming her love at the top of her lungs either, as there was still that trace of old fear ready to take over and taint all of the good things she was harboring towards him, but she felt it… even if she held onto her feelings as one of her deepest secrets._

_Yes, she would take him into her bed and keep him there until the sun was up, she would spend all the time that she could with him and his son, and she would even humor him from time to time and parade around the castle with him. But never had she ever, even hinted that what she felt went anywhere beyond just sex for her._

_What could she say? Her fear was latent. In her mind, it was too soon to be feeling so much; but at the same time, she was even more scared to let go of him in a moment when he was the only thing pulling her together. She was too selfish to let that go._

_As the result of such dilema, she was torn between holding onto her feelings or just letting go. It was a thing she had been facing for about a month or two, knowing that she could just tell him, or maybe even show him, but deciding not to…_

" _Are you awake?" Robin growled low into her ear, making her crawl out of her thoughts. "Or are you still asleep?" He finished, the tip of his fingertips running slowly down her ribcage._

_That right there made Regina tremble a little, but the only response to his touch she gave was an approving hum that barely traveled past her throat._

" _Well... I'm going to say that means still asleep, so tell me, what can I do to wake you up?" Breathing the words, he allowed his fingers to roam to her hip and then back up, repeating the movement a couple of times before settling on her stomach._

_It felt good, his touch warm and teasing, so it was a bit hard to keep her eyes from opening. But then again, everything he always did to her felt good, more than what it had any right to feel so there was no surprise there._

_By then, she knew how he could just render her into a pile of nothing by just laying his hands on her skin and apparently, that day wasn't going to be the exception._

_She couldn't wait… and she also couldn't wait for him to work for it, as she knew he didn't have to do much for her to crave for him in ways she never believed imaginable. She wanted him to take her there. To make her need it._

" _I want to sleep, Robin, it's still early." She mumbled with a soft smile, her eyes still closed as she waited for him to make his move._

" _You do?" He asked, the undertones of his voice making her shiver, but then she felt him getting even closer to her, his nose burying into the crook of her neck as he apparently breathed into her. "Why, don't you like it when I touch you like this?"_

_"You know I do." She admitted, pushing her head even harder against the mattress as his teeth and tongue started to teasingly nip and lap that special spot below her jaw that she loved so much to be treated. While he worried her throat with his mouth, his fingers worked their sorcery on her flesh, moving to her breast and squeezing her in his palm, making her blood simmer._

_He always did that, make her lose her cool with just a little bit of touching… and she didn't know if it was because of how she felt for him, or because he was her soulmate, or if it was just because over the past couple of months, he became an expert in the arts of her body._

" _So if you like it, why sleep when we can do other things?"_

" _Mmm, like what, play cards?" She fired back teasingly, because the night before he has been so set into teaching her how to play some sort of card game he claimed was the best thing ever, that they went to bed ridiculously late. Oh and without doing much than kissing a little before falling asleep._

" _I was thinking of... other things…good things." He moved his hand lower to her pubic bone, his mouth now sucking on her skin lightly. "Unless you would rather sleep on me, again."_

_Feeling already aching, swollen and with every cell of her body filled with lust, the brunette moved her hand to his sides and allowed her fingers to slide seductively over the bare skin of his hip._

_"It depends on what kind of things you mean." She said, finally opening her eyes to take a good look at him._

_Robin was hovering over her, his eyes, a shade darker than the blue she loved so much, staring at her languidly. "Oh they are perverted things, a bit raunchy, if I have to be honest."_

_As he said that, she slowly moved her hand to his back, her fingers taking on the soft texture of his skin as her eyes kept on looking into his blue orbs._

_He stared back, his lips curving slyly and his own hand moving down to her stomach and then up to her breast again._

_Thriving on the feeling of his hands on her, Regina closed her eyes and reached down his body so that she could roam around with her other hand; touching him right where she could feel him hard and poking insistently against her hip._

_Now yes, he was naked like she was, but unfortunately, he was somehow entangled in her blankets and the soft fabric that separated his burning member from the touch of her hand resulted too inconvenient for her taste._

_It was good, he felt good... but she wanted more, and more she was going to get._

" _You mean raunchy like this?"_

" _Yes, definitely like this." Her lingering touch made him hiss under his breath and Regina couldn't help but to bite her lips in approval._

_That was another thing that would quickly get her into a fever-pitch, watching him react to her..._

_"Get this off the way…" She started to say as she tried to pull the blanket off. It was a futile attempt, as she managed to do nothing._

_Scoffing and quickly kissing her lips, he spoke. "You'll have to work with that patience, love."_

_Instead of doing as she said, the man just removed his hand from her breast and slid it to her waist, pushing her lightly off the mattress so that she could rest on her side. Once he accommodated her like he wanted to, he pressed his body to her back, his lips traveling lower so he could kiss her shoulder._

_Regina grunted, the position she was now made it a bit uncomfortable to touch him like she wanted, so she put her hand away from him and pressed her ass harder against his erection, feeling at the same time as his other hand was placed over her flat stomach._

_As he held her in place, his fingers slipped between her legs, running smoothly all the way up until two expert digits found the liquid heat that was making her judgment to be impaired._

" _Mm, I like that." She purred as she bit her lips, her legs automatically separating so he could explore with care, parting her and feeling her at will._

_As she had expected, he was touching her exactly where and how she needed to be touched to make her feel wanton. He knew where to rub, he knew the right rhythm and pressure to put on her, and as the momentum was starting to build in the pit of her stomach, a lone finger slipped in, making her moan out loud at the sweet intrusion._

_"How about this, do you like it?"_

_She nodded, closing her eyes tight as sensation started to overcome her._

" _You want me to keep going?"_

_She nodded again, sucking in a deep breath._

_"Then tell me… tell me what you want, love." He whispered in her ear, his finger slowly sliding in and then almost out._

_Letting out a shaky breath, Regina opened her eyes and rolled them. "I want you. I wouldn't be here otherwise. I do not do this as charity, you know?"_

_Laughing a rich laugh that filled the room, Robin used his thumb to run circles over her clit, and as he did that, he never stopped moving his fingers within her. "My Queen, what will I do with you and that attitude of yours?"_

_"Nothing. You'll do nothing but-" She started to say as her face searched for his, but taking the way her head turned to him and the fact that her lips were parted for him to claim, the man laying behind her leaned forward and kissed her, his lips stealing away any other word she could have muttered._

_The kiss didn't last long though, his tongue just quickly swirled around hers and then he pulled away._

_"I think I will have to do something." And with that he pushed another finger into her passage and bit on her shoulder._

_Holding down a moan, Regina buried her face into the pillow. She couldn't see him like that, but she could hear his breathing softly brushing against her ear. She could also detect his masculine scent lingering in the air, and most definitely, she could feel his digits working inside of her._

_The pressure of the movements in her made her bit the pillow, and as he continued the sweet torture, she could feel him kissing a path from her shoulders to the back of her head._

_That right there sent a shiver down her spine and she arched into his touch and into his mouth, moaning softly as she let herself be carried away into the moment._

_At that point she didn't care who he was or what Tinker Bell said, she just wanted the sweet aching between her legs to be treated as she needed it, and the sooner it was treated the better._

_Licking her lips and pulling away from him, she swirled around, moved her hands to the nape of his neck and forced his head towards her; then, when he was close enough she pulled even closer and kissed him hard._

_The change of positions made him slide his fingers out but she didn't really mind, not when the promise of him filling her in other ways was so near._

_Robin gave into it, rolling her to her back and receiving her when she boldly plunged her tongue between his lips. After letting her take control for a few seconds, he reciprocated by pushing it back so that he could be the one exploring her mouth._

_Kissing… it was such a basic thing, but as she came to realize in this crazy journey they were on, it was the best way of savoring each other. It never failed to take her breath away, it made her feel dizzy with need and in that moment, as he kissed her senseless, she was feeling all of those things and more._

_And again, it was good, but she needed more._

_With that in mind, she ran her hands down his back until they slipped underneath the rather annoying fabric of her blanket, pressing him hard against her as her fingers squeezed his flesh._

_Until that moment they had only engaged in a heavy make out session, her hands were all over him, his fingers had been all over her and in her, and with their limbs entangled they kissed over and over again. But now, feeling his body press hard into hers as her legs accommodated his weight, was making her arousal go to a fever pitch._

_The liquid heat that settled in her center long ago craved for more, and in her fuzzy mind there was only one way to satiate her need._

_She wanted him, and she wanted him bad._

_It could be that her need to feel something after losing it all was overpowering, it could be the fact that his touch always made her feel more wanton and daring than usual, or it could be that she had never been with a man that made her feel like that. Whatever it was, it didn't matter, not in that moment anyway._

_Pulling away from him, she moaned gravelly, rotating her hips against the hardness of his manhood and thus provoking a low hum to escape his lips. It was obvious that he was more than ready to give her what she wanted, as he only needed to take the blanket away to give it to her._

_But he wasn't taking it away. No, if she pushed her groin into him he would push harder, but with that damn blanket in the way, nothing was really happening. Yes she could feel his burning erection poking and teasing her entrance, but other than that nothing._

_"Don't be a tease, thief." She mumbled breathless. After saying that, she lifted one leg and brushed it against his strong bare thigh._

_"That's not my name." He planted a kiss on her jaw, his tongue darting out to taste her skin. But because Regina didn't want any more preambles, she slid her hands down his sides and once they reached the edge of the blanket, she started to pull it off the way._

_"Robin… is that what you wanted to hear?"_

_The man smiled, his face lowering so that he could brush his lips against hers. "To start, yes, that's what I wanted to hear."_

_Arching an eyebrow, Regina used all her strength to roll them over. The motion made Robin chuckle, but it didn't matter, as all she cared was that with him like that, it was easier to disentangle him from the blanket._

_And that she did, pulling it off and tossing it away. Once he was as she wanted him, she slid against his body._

_"And here I was thinking I was going to be the one doing the perverted things." He smirked, holding her hips steady as she straddled him._

_Regina intently looked at him, and placing her hands to his chest, she moved against his erection, slowly making him slide into her. "Surprise, surprise?"_

_Sucking in a breath, Robin's eyes focused on their joined groins. Then with a lazy smirk, he bit on his lips. "Oh… that's… a good surprise, the kind I like."_

_"Hmm," She mumbled with an arch of her eyebrow, moving against him and slowly starting to pick up a rhythm that seemed to satisfy them both._

_It felt more than good, the way he filled her, the way he looked at her as she moved. It was enough to make her breath hitch and her skin burn even hotter._

" _Now this is a sigh I wouldn't mind seeing more often in my mornings." He said after a while. Then, he lifted up and pulled her even closer._

_Once flushed against him, Regina circled his neck with her arm, but instead of continuing with the way she had been riding him, she just furrowed her brows a little and looked at him._

_At his cheeks, tinged with red, his eyes, so deep into hers… his lips, parted and breathing hard. She could tell him, right then and there… and he would probably say it back because she knew it was something he felt as well, and wouldn't that be perfect? Liberating?_

" _Is everything all right?" He asked, frowning while he moved his arms around her. He was still inside of her, hard, burning… and if anything, that made her close her eyes for a few seconds, as she wanted to drink on the moment of feeling him like that a bit longer._

" _Yes… everything is fine…"_

_He smiled, but there was uncertainty on the act. Like he knew she was about to say something bad. "You are looking at me funny."_

_Moving her hand to his face, Regina ran her knuckles down his cheek. "It's nothing… I just like looking at your face."_

_With his eyes taking on a new glint, he scrunched his nose. "Well, I like seeing your face too."_

" _You can… if you want to, of course, have this sight every morning. I mean… you spend most of your nights here so… you know. We can move Roland closer too…"_

" _You want me to move here with you?"_

" _Just if you want. It's easier… but you don't have to… ugh, just… forget it." She started to move back against him, making his erection slide even deeper. But with his eyes narrowing and her brain mortified, it was just not the same._

_Meaning that now she ruined what could have been a nice session of sex by being stupid..._

" _I want to." He said, settling his hands on her hips to stop her movements. It made him blink, expectantly, biting into the silly grin that wanted to break off his lips._

" _Yeah?" She asked, not quite believing she asked him that in the middle of sex and not believing he said yes without giving it too much thought._

" _Regina, you know I-"_

_Stopping him by placing a thumb to his lips, the Queen shook her head. "I know…"_

_He nodded, taking in a deep breath. "I know too."_

_Her lips parted, her heart beat harder, but instead of adding to whatever exchange they were having, she just kissed him, deep, in a way happy because yes, he knew…_

XxXxXxXx

The Queen was upset.

He didn't have to be an expert in the arts of her to know this, because the reality of it all was that her mood was an obvious thing for anyone who cared enough to see.

It could be noted in her tense shoulders and rigid posture as she walked by his side, in the way her eyes had taken a dull distant glow as she scanned their surroundings with an air of indifference that spoke volumes, and more importantly, in her unusual silence.

Because yes, as it happened, ever since they walked out of Snow's, she hadn't spoken a word. Not even to tell him no when he suggested they could go into his camp for a while.

Now yes, having the woman silently agree to go there with him was in a way making his stomach twist and turn in excitement, but if he had to be honest, it also worried him, because the Regina he knew, would never set foot in his camp so willingly.

She would have told him to go away, she would have brushed him off or maybe even throw one of those biting remarks of hers; but she would have never just shrugged and followed him there.

But she did, and even if there was a sense of eagerness eating his entrails that he couldn't quite shake off, he also couldn't help but to fret.

What could he say? Having her in that mood was really a disheartening thing to see because it was like her entire aura just changed, and whether before there was that haughty air surrounding all of what she was, tinged with a little bit of biting sassiness, she was now just… subdued.

"Are you sure you're alright?" He asked, halting on his tracks and grabbing her shoulder once he could see the tents rising up from the ground of the sanctuary he and his Merry Men had chosen to make camp.

Regina nodded, folding her arms to her chest as she finally went ahead to look at him. But as she did, there was just that dull glint in her eyes instead of the sparkling fire of before.

"You know you can talk to me, right?"

She blinked, one time and then two, as if she was registering the meaning of what he was saying, and then when the words probably downed, she opened her mouth to take in a deep breath… probably ready to speak.

She hesitated though; he knew because of the shaky way in which she sucked in a breath while moving her eyes from him, looking up into the skies as she shook her head no.

"There's nothing to talk about."

Taking a step towards her, Robin pressed a hand to her cheek, his thumb smoothing her skin tenderly as his eyes tried to make hers look into them. "Alright, but if there's ever the need to, you know, have someone who listens… just know that I'm here, yes?"

Much to his surprise, the brunette looked at him and nodded, her chocolate brown eyes wide and glistening staring deep into his.

Now... having her look at him like that made Robin want to kiss her, and yes, maybe it was not the time for such things, but he really felt like he needed to.

It would be easy, he was close enough, her lips were slightly parted already for him to claim and well, he was sure she wouldn't push him off.

But because he wasn't the kind of person that would prey on a woman when she was most vulnerable, instead of closing the distance to try to appease some of her sadness with a kiss, what he did was drop his hand from her face and take a step back.

"So this is it, the Merry Men's camp." He said smacking his lips and pointing ahead so that she could see.

Arching an eyebrow and snarling her lips in a way that made Robin snort, as it was the most 'Regina-like' thing she has done in a while, the Queen grunted. "You really named your band of thieves the Merry Men? why would you do that?"

Smiling broadly, the blue-eyed man lifted a hand to press it to his throat, scratching on the skin there. Then, he dragged it directly to the back of his neck. "Um, well… we were men and we were merry… and at the time we were picking names we were also a tad drunk. We woke with quite a hangover but the name kind of stuck."

"Hmm." Regina hummed, but before she could say whatever else she was going to say, they were both startled by the sound of someone calling for him.

"Papa!"

Turning around in time so that he could see Roland running towards him with all the enthusiasm that characterized him, Robin smiled, bending down so that when the boy finally made it to him, he could pick him up and hug him to his chest.

He did, lifting him up and tickling him a little once he was in his arms. "Hey there, my boy."

Giggling, Roland grabbed his face between his little hands and looked him straight in the eye. "Papa, where were you?"

Because he couldn't tell his boy he had been in a meeting with the Charmings planning on ways to track the Wicked Witch, Robin decided to ease things up and play a little with his son.

"What do you mean where was I? I've been all over the place looking for you, so I think the question here is, where were _you_?"

"I was here all the time! With Tuck teaching words to me."

Tilting his head up to see that indeed Tuck was standing not a far distance from the camp, Robin hummed. The Friar was set on teaching Roland how to write and read, among other things, and he knew the lessons were a serious thing for his old friend. Which was why he was probably looking at them both in disapproval, as he wasn't keen on interruptions.

"You snuck out of your lessons? Is that why Tuck is giving me the evil eye?"

Instead of replying with what he was supposed to say, which was a yes Papa, Roland smiled his huge dimple smile. "Huh?"

Humming and trying to bite into the smile that wanted to break out of his lips by having the boy pretend he didn't understand the question asked, Robin shook his head and looked at Regina.

She was standing there, the phantom of a smile gracing her lips as she observed their interaction. "Alright, before Friar comes and starts scolding both you and me, I want you to meet someone. Roland, this is Regina, and Regina, this is my boy, Roland."

As soon as the words were out, his four years old son rested his head against the hollow between his shoulder and his neck to hide there, an easy way for him to know that Roland turned completely shy on him.

Not like such a thing seemed to bother Regina, because she responded by letting her lips smile fully as she looked at him in the softest of ways.

"Hi, Roland. Your dad told me quite a lot about you."

Tilting his head to the side so that he could look at her, the boy smiled. "Hello. He talk me me about you too."

Straightening her back a little and moving her eyes to him, Regina arched an eyebrow, a mix of confusion and wonder taking over her brown orbs. "Oh."

For some reason, her reaction made Robin smile, the tip of his tongue darting out so that he could run it over his lips. "Alright, before you say anything, I'll come forward and explain that. I told him who you were because of the sweets, you know, the little cakes you sent over? Which by the way, were a big success here-"

"That's okay." She started to say with a small smile. But because he wasn't done talking, he drew in a deep breath before he would have to go on.

"And maybe it may have slipped something about you being the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

There, her smile was gone and there was maybe a hint of reproached in her eyes.

"Now don't you think I want to make you feel uncomfortable by saying that. I'm actually telling you because he was bound to throw me right on the spot with that one at any given time, right my boy?"

"He said to me you are stunning. But I don't know what's that." Roland replied, giggling.

"See? No sense of loyalty whatsoever."

Not even bothered, Roland shrugged. "Do you have more sweets?"

Cringing at his son's impertinent question, Robin blew out a breath. "Now where are your manners, Roland? You can't just ask for things like that."

"Sorry, Papa."

Wrinkling her nose and focusing on the boy, Regina took a step towards them. "I don't have any right now. But how about if I bake some for you soon? if your father doesn't mind, of course."

"Yes! Papa, you don't mind? please, please…"

Pressing a kiss to his forehead, Robin snorted. "No, I don't mind. Now go and finish your lessons."

Putting him on the ground, the archer sighed, expecting the child to go off running. But instead of doing so, what Roland did was take a few steps towards Regina so that he could look up at her; then flashing his biggest smile, he waved.

"Goodbye Regina."

Frowning and smiling in a way that melted Robin a little right on the spot, Regina puffed out a breath. "Bye, Roland."

And just like that, he did run away.

Smiling at the way Regina watched after his son, Robin walked to her, pressing a hand to her lower back to get her closer. "Seems like he took a quick liking to you. Maybe it's a Locksley thing... you know, being taken aback like that. The question is, do us Locksleys, have any kind of effect on the Queen?"

"Of course, the _Queen_ thinks he's cute and charming. You on the other hand are just annoying." Her eyes rolled and there was a low groan coming from her, but instead of feeling thrown off by any of that, her attitude just made his smile grow.

"Seems like I'll have to work on that. Will feeding you make me earn some points?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Not if you feed me anything from here."

"Nonsense. Little John is in fact a better cook than he is a hunter so come on, I'll show you what a good meal is all about."

With that said, Robin basically dragged her into his territory, making her walk with him towards their cooking area. By then, it was a little after midday so he knew he was going to find something to eat there and yes, in effect, there was some.

It was all good to him, as hunger was already tickling on his stomach, but he didn't think Regina was as eager to eat as he was.

It was only after a bit of a back and forth that he managed to put some things in her plate she approved, but what he couldn't get her to do though, was sit out in the ground to eat so he basically had to take her into his and Roland's tent.

Now yes, compared to the huge house that she had, his accommodations were simple and humble, adorned only with a couple of cots Belle donated to them and a few other essentials. But because it was enough to guard them from the elements outside, that was basically all he needed.

Once in there, she sat on his cot, nibbling on a few things before declaring she was full.

"If you're eating for two, you'll have to do better than that. Did you have something to eat this morning?"

Doing a double take, Regina scoffed. "What, are you my father now?"

"Not yours, but…" He pointed at her stomach, because that creature growing inside of her was his and he saw it as his responsibility to take care of them. Yes, she was the one carrying it, but he could do his part as well.

"Well, maybe I would eat more if it wasn't for the fact that this child makes me get sick if I eat too much. So if you don't want me getting sick all over your tent, you will not push me to eat any more than that."

Breathing in, Robin shrugged, standing from his place in Roland's own cot and reaching forward to grab her plate and cup to put it away. "Point taken."

Nodding, Regina arched both eyebrows, her tongue pushing hard against the inside of her cheek as she looked at him.

Putting everything away and then turning back to her, Robin chewed on his lips, his eyes drawn back to hers at once.

"So… are you feeling better?" He asked, sitting in the cot with her.

She nodded, blinking slowly as the palms of her hands came to rest at each side of her.

"And with the baby, are you feeling better with that?"

Sighing in deeply, her eyes widened. "I'm getting there. I mean, this is still a bit surreal to me. I… wasn't supposed to be able to bear children, so this came like a double surprise."

Taking on her words, Robin slid closer to her, taking the liberty of reaching forward to touch her stomach while never even once taking his eyes from hers. "Then more than a surprise, take it as a blessing."

There was a nervous laugh coming from her. "Easy for you to say it, but with everything that's going on, I don't even know what to think… or how to feel. I mean… the more I think about it, the more I get to want this baby, but at the same time… I can't help but to think that I feel like that because I don't have Henry and part of me wants to replace him; and I don't ever want to do that."

Letting his hand rest on her, Robin blinked slowly. "A child doesn't replace another, or do you think there's a way for you to stop loving Henry?"

"Never."

"Then there it is."

Rolling her eyes, Regina snorted, running her hand through her hair almost nervously. "Gosh, I don't know what's happening to me. I don't quite feel like myself… I'm all wimpy." She sucked in a breath, shaking her head before continuing. "Your son looks like a good kid, kind of reminds me of Henry that age."

Flashing her a reassuring smile, he moved his hand from her stomach and grabbed her hand. "Tell me about him, about Henry."

At first, she blew out a breath and he was sure she was going to tell him off or to walk away. But she didn't, she just went ahead and talked, telling him a few anecdotes while his fingers moved against her hand; rubbing on her knuckles, getting familiar with her fingers and the lines on her palm, smoothing the veins running along her wrist.

That seemed to relax her some, and by the time she started to ask about Roland, she seemed completely at ease. She even laughed a little as he told her all about his son's little antics, and that right there made his heart flip. It was in that moment that he knew he would do anything in his power to alway make her smile and laugh like that.

"I think I better go." She said after a while. "I intruded enough as it is. You should be wanting to go to your son."

Robin, who didn't want her to go because one, he wanted to keep her safe from this Zelena and two, because he was enjoying her too much to let go, intertwined his fingers with hers. "Roland still has a couple of hours of lessons with Friar Tuck, so that leaves some time for me to just… do other things."

"What kind of other things?" Regina asked and was he imagining it, or was her tone a bit inviting?

"I don't know… things."

Her eyebrow shot a bit, but she just watched him, her eyes shining in a completely different way as she stared into his own gaze. There were no words, and he was bad at interpreting things, but feeling like he had a second to act or flee, he moved forward and pressed his mouth to hers.

He didn't think it through, didn't even make a plan, he just kissed her lips and lingered there for a moment.

Pulling a way, he blinked his eyes open, waiting for her to call him out. She didn't, she just kept looking at him in that way that made his mind turn all hazy, so he kissed her again, this time adding a bit more pressure

Sighing against his mouth, Regina pressed back against him, her lips molding so perfectly to his that it was unbelievable. Then, she was parting a way for him to deepen the kiss and he didn't waste a second doing it.

Burying a hand into her hair and tilting his face the other way, Robin stroked his tongue with hers, and as he did that, his other hand went to her waist.

As they kissed, breathing into each other and drinking onto the feeling, her arm moved around his neck, pulling him closer. It made him feel confident enough to let his hand roam a little. Running down her sides, lowering to her hip, venturing just under her breast and then back to her waist.

They kissed like that for some time, long and deep… until he was sure the sweet taste of her was going to live forever in his mouth, and until his lungs felt about to explode. After that, they kissed some more.

It went like that for a few minutes, until he pulled away. His intention was to ask her if what they were doing was alright; but he had no time to ask because as soon as their lips parted, Regina reached down for his shirt and grabbing it by the edges, she started to pull it off.

"Take this off." She breathed out and bloody hell, who was he to deny what she asked for?

He ended up pulling the shirt off, as she wanted, tossing it away and almost groaning when she started to run her hands from his stomach to his chest.

It was nice, the feeling of her hands on him, enough to make him feel his pants get a bit tighter. But if she was going to touch freely, he wanted to do the same.

That was how he kissed her back, his brain a big pile of nothing as his hands started to pull at her shirt too. She helped him along the way, all until her upper body was almost completely exposed to him.

Leaning forward and pushing her back, he made Regina lay flat over the cot, his weight resting over her. He kissed her like that, touched her, and when she wrapped her arms tighter around him, he even made room to accommodate himself between her legs.

By then, he was as hard as he was going to get, so wanting to relieve the pressure he was feeling, he pushed his groin against hers, kissing her deep while his right hand went to cup her breast.

"Robin-" She said, her fingers running into his hair.

The man kissed her jaw, then her chin and all the way to her shoulder…

"I'm going to go home." She announced and just like that, he pulled away, his darkened eyes blinking in confusion for a moment.

But then, he understood and he quickly removed his hand from her breast and rolled to his side.

It was as if she threw a bucket of cold water at him and yes, maybe he deserved it for being so bloody forward… for not controlling his impulses. "Alright…. I'm sorry, I-"

"Come with me."

As soon as she said the words, she sucked in a deep breath, her eyes wild and dark digging into his. It made Robin's heart skip a beat.

"To your house?"

She nodded, biting into her lips. "You said you still had a couple of hours…"

Robin snorted, running a hand through his hair and then touching her face. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah…"

"Alright then." Clearing his throat and feeling like he was walking in a cloud, he reached for her shirt and passed it to her, watching as she sat down on the cot to put it over.

For a second, he just watched her… half his mind telling him not to go over himself because maybe what she had in mind was not the same he thing he had and well, he didn't want to take a wrong step here.

So yes, he would go with her and just go with whatever was going to happen. Even if it wasn't what his body craved for, he was going to take it and make the best out of it.

He just hoped that whatever it was, it would be a good step into them getting closer and not a catalyst to push them even more apart…

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

She shouldn't have stopped things from the way they have been progressing at Robin's tent. No, she shouldn't have… she _definitely_ shouldn't have.

That was the most predominant thought running through Regina's mind at the moment because sure, it was a little too late for regrets now, but as she opened the door to her house so that she and Robin could walk in, she couldn't help but to muse about how easy it would have been for her to just shut her mind back there and let things run their course.

They have been almost there after all; with his mouth expertly claiming hers with his kiss and with the weight of his body pressing teasingly against her, her libido has been flaring and that about had her in the perfect mood to just give into the moment.

Sure, it had all been a bit insane and maybe a little too fast, but it had felt so good and things had been running so perfectly smooth that for once, both her mind and body had been onboard with it all. She wanted him; in a way, she needed what he had been offering so badly, that she had been willing to forget everything and just succumb to him.

But before she even could, she just… stopped them, on dry… when by all rights she should have just let him have her right in the spot.

Yes, back to that moment, she thought that the two of them taking things to a more private location would make things safer and a bit more comfortable, as she wouldn't have to be worrying about someone walking in on them at any given moment.

The possibility of that happening had been enough for her to make up her mind about where she wanted to take things, and in a way she didn't want to second guess the decision of playing it safe. But at the same time, now that they were there, finally alone and with almost two hours to spare, the mere fact that such a decision was forcing her to start things with him all over again was freaking the hell out of her.

It was ridiculous, yes… she knew it, as this was definitely not how a woman that had lived all of what she did should behave. But the reality of it all was that she has been out of the game for so long, that she honestly wasn't sure how to proceed.

In her Evil Queen days, feeling like that wouldn't have been an issue as she would have had this man for lunch. But now? Now she was so antsy that she was starting to even feel physically ill.

Her stomach was all turned, her hands felt shaky, and her heart was beating so incredibly hard she was afraid it could explode. And all that because of a man in her house.

How and when did she become such a meek person? She didn't even know how to act. Like what should she do now? Turn to him to kiss him? Should she offer him something to drink first or should she just take him to her bed so they could pick up things from where they left them?

She didn't really know, and such uncertainty was overwhelming, and no... such unusual nerves were not because of what was about to happen, but because despite her denial, this wasn't any man she could dispose of and never see again after. No, this was her alleged soulmate, the possible father of her miracle baby and well… for some reason, that was all kinds of unnerving to her.

Taking in a deep breath that was meant to calm down the nauseating feeling that being so nervous was causing to her, Regina decided that the best thing she could do to gain a little bit of control over the situation, was to stop thinking and just let things be.

Maybe she didn't have to make things into something they were not. Maybe, what she needed was to see the whole thing as purely physical. She had an itch, and here was this man to help her scratch it, nothing more, nothing less. Just a good dose of plain ol' sex, the kind that would help her feel something other than the void taking over her whole being and yes, the kind that would make her forget about how messed up everything was at the moment.

She could even lie to herself for a while and play pretend it didn't have to matter with whom she was about to do this. Maybe, she could even set her mind to be detached during the whole thing so that her body could get the relief it so desperately needed without getting her emotions involved.

Yes… she liked that, and she could definitely achieve that if she acted a bit more like the Queen she had been instead of keeping herself in the mundane mindframe that has taken over her life since the first curse.

It was with that plan in mind, that the brunette closed the door behind her and lifted her chin up, watching as Robin's presence seemed to dull everything else that was in the house.

There was only him, and because of that her eyes were entrancingly drawn to each and every one of his movements. 

"Do you want something to drink?" She asked, proud that her voice came out strong and clear.

"Sure." He replied, turning around so that he could set her eyes on hers.

She hummed at the answer and her brows furrowed a little, but just because she actually thought he would want to straight up pick things back from where she stopped them. It was okay though, so moving from the door and walking around him, she made her way towards the liquor cabinet. From there she grabbed the first thing she saw, whiskey.

She managed to pour some of the fiery liquid into a glass for him without her hands trembling and yes, she was proud, because that meant she was gaining some ground. But then, she turned to offer the drink to him and he was so close, that she almost jumped startled.

Almost… she didn't though, so forcing her mouth to curve a little, she arched an eyebrow and passed the glass to him. "I hope you don't mind drinking alone… you know, since I can't… drink."

And for Christ's sake, she thought, internally cringing at how she was babbling, especially, when his own lips curved a little as he watched her. Luckily, he didn't say anything and just took a sip of his drink.

"Do you want to go to my room so we can get this over with?"

And there it was, her big mouth getting in the way and ruining things before they even started. God, she was really a piece of work, she thought.

Scoffing, Robin swallowed what he had on his mouth and then, putting the glass away, he shook his head. "Get this over with? You say it like that and it sounds like a task you are dreading. You know we don't _have_ to do anything you don't want to do, right?"

Swallowing on dry and in a way regretting how she stopped things back at the tent again, Regina gathered whatever she had left of the Evil Queen and grabbed the edge of his shirt, bringing him close enough so that her mouth could touch his briefly.

She gave him a soft kiss that way, one that he reciprocated immediately.

"I want to. You?" She asked gravelly as his lips pressed to the corner of her mouth.

Now, was it unnerving to say that and mean it? Yes, but she was not going to back down on it. So pushing all traces of hesitation to the side, she waited for his answer. 

"Yes." He replied, sealing their fate. Once he said that, he dragged his mouth lower and lower, going over her chin and further down the column of her neck, kissing and nipping a path of fire until he found a way to that sensitive spot on her throat where her pulse was beating against her skin.

At the sensation, Regina's eyes closed automatically, and as if they had a life of their own, her hands settled on his chest, her finger closing over the fabric of his shirt.

"But there's no need to rush it."

After saying that, his tongue brushed hotly over her skin; then he kept on, breathing into her scent, kissing underneath her jaw, below her ear, over her cheeks, her chin…

It was hot, and it was definitely making her entire body burn, but at the same time, there was certain tenderness about how he was slowly working her on, that for some reason made her legs feel like rubber and her heart beat too hard.

She wasn't sure if that was a good thing though, because the way she saw it, tenderness was a fast way to catch feelings and that was not what she needed in that moment. No, she needed rough, hard to control sex that would give her no time to think or feel anything other than pleasure.

"There's no need to delay it either." She pressed herself to him, searching for his mouth and kissing him hard, her tongue sliding into the whiskey flavored cave of his mouth so that she could nudge him into action.

He let her indulge, kissing her with the same intensity, his hands sliding down her back until they rested over her ass. That way he pulled her even closer to him, making her feel the undeniable proof of his desire.

It was what she wanted, what she needed, so feeling him like that, made her groin turn into a liquid warm mess.

"I can't really get enough of that mouth of yours." He hissed, lifting a hand to her face so that he could run his thumb over her lips.

Regina watched him entranced, her eyes set on the way he was looking at what he was doing. It was almost hypnotic, and for a moment, she could do nothing but feel the ball of his digit move over her mouth, smoothening his way around and making her lips part for him.

But then, he moved that inch closer that separated them to catch her lower lip between his teeth, nibbling at her tender flesh and thus provoking her to sigh.

"There are other things you might enjoy more than my mouth." She said just because she needed to say something.

Instead of gracing her with an answer, what Robin did was touch his tongue to her lips, and feeling eager for more, Regina tilted her head to the side and brushed her own tongue against his. That triggered something inside of him and he went ahead to kiss her deeper and longer, exploring and savoring all she had to give.

It was that way, that breathing deep into the kiss, Robin slid one of his hands underneath her shirt, letting it roam along her skin carelessly.

The contact made Regina tremble and her libido soar. It was all so good, he felt and kissed so good that she didn't know how she could go through it all in one piece. Not that she was going to muse about that now, so moving her right hand to the back of his neck, her fingers slid slowly through his hair.

It wasn't time to think, it was time to feel.

"Let's go upstairs." She mumbled as he cupped her breast, feeling her around through the fabric of her bra, his thumb teasing her nipple into a hard peak. He played with her for a few more seconds before pushing the cup down so that he could touch her good, starting all over again but this time, without any barrier between them.

"Alright." He said after a while, but instead of moving, he kissed her again, one hand working her upper body while the other one moved down between her legs, pressing against the ache between her legs.

"Robin, up, now." She breathed out, not really getting why he was playing such games.

Chuckling against her mouth, the former outlaw moved both his hands to her ass and effortlessly lifted her up. "Seems like I have an eager Queen here. Where to?"

"The stairs." She hummed, her legs wrapping around his hips. That, combined with the way he was pressing her to him, made the roughness of his erection brush against the wet spot in her crotch and in a matter of nothing, she was seeing stars.

Moaning, she kissed him deep, feeling as he started to walk towards the stairs.

For a second, she was tempted to use magic to make them appear in her bed, preferably naked and yes, what could she say? That was how bad she was aching for him. She wanted to feel him buried deep inside of her and she wanted him now.

She needed to feel the pressure of him moving within her, she wanted her breath to catch in her throat as she drowned in the wave of pleasure she was anticipating he could create, and she wanted it bad.

There were no nerves in her anymore… not if she kept it like that, as just sex… mindless, plain… sex.

"God, I want you so bad." She said against his mouth. "Forget about my room, I want it here, now."

"Here?" He asked, his voice so low and throaty she could almost breath in it.

Rotating her hips against his erection, she moaned. "Yes…"

As if sensing her eagerness, Robin groaned. He kind of hesitated, but at the end he stopped walking and lowered her down. Now, when he did that they were at the stairs and when her ass was settled against a step, he came down with her.

It was a bit uncomfortable as she could feel the edge of an upper step digging into her back, but maybe that could help in keeping herself grounded.

It was just sex after all, so it was better there at the stairs than in her bed were all could quickly become so comfortable and intimate…

"Help me take this off."

He did, and when he started to pull at her pants, she helped him along by kicking off her boots.

Her pants followed soon and then her panties, and once she was naked from the waist down, she used her hands to help him out of his pants as well.

They did that without ceasing to kiss, their tongues wrestling against dominance and their hands roaming along naked skin.

"Shouldn't we take this somewhere more comfortable?" Robin asked breathless, positioning himself between her legs. "I mean… I don't want to be the arsehole that had his way with a Queen in some bloody stairs."

Already on edge and with her mind blank, Regina could feel her face burning and her breathing to be more than a little labored, but because she knew what she wanted and how, she shook her head no. "It's fine here."

Smirking in a way that his dimples were in full display, Robin reached down to grab his erection. He brushed it against her, the tip of it dragging between her wet folds and circling over her nub. "Are you sure?"

Regina swallowed hard. It had been such a long time for her, at least that she could remember, that it all felt a bit too much. Still, she wanted it all

She was trembling, even tensing with his teasing. The feeling made her closed her eyes and throw her head back. "Yes… God… just, do it..."

She said through clenched teeth, but when she felt him slowly press against her opening, her eyes opened so that she could look into his darkening blue orbs.

Their eyes locked as he slowly pushed into her and yes, it felt almost obscene. It was even more intense than what she was willing to bear, but she still refused to look away.

Robin entered her smoothly, despite how tense she felt, her walls trapping him and making him groan low. "Oh you feel so good." He said, but before she could reply by saying that he felt good too, he captured her lips and began to kiss her anew.

Trying to ignore the discomfort of the step digging into her back, Regina wrapped her arms around his neck, her face tilting to the right as she felt him settle all the way in. Maybe it was in her mind, maybe it was herself, but for a wild second, she was sure he was not the only one trembling. Maybe he was too, as he was trying to hold still as he hovered over her.

She didn't need him to hold still, and she didn't need that strange feeling that oddly made her think like her soul was on fire, no… she needed him to move, to fuck her like there was no tomorrow.

Fucking was good, it was all she needed from this encounter.

Wanting that so that her mind wouldn't have time to get confused, one of her legs lifted and settled on his lowered back, slowly traveling south until it was resting on his ass. Once there, she pulled him to her, silently letting him know she needed him to move.

He growled at that, especially when her lips moved over his jaw so that she could lick down the column of his neck. "Shit, Regina."

Smirking because it seemed she still had some tricks on her, Regina sucked on his pulse point, decided that she was going to do whatever she needed to do to keep things from going anywhere beyond just physical, and that of course included, talking the talk he probably wanted to hear.

Because if she had to make the whole thing dirty, then she was going to do it good.

So, breathing in and using the sultiest voice she had, she lifted her hips against him. "Let me feel you good, let me feel how good you can fuck me."

"Fuck… just… give me a second… shit… this is quite surreal…" With that said, he pulled a bit appart, his eyes going between their bodies so that he could get caught up with the sight of his length impaled all the way into her.

Then, he started to move.

"Mmm, yes… like that."

"Yeah?" He groaned, his hands going to her hips and pulling her against him. The movement made the step dig deeper, but keeping the pain of it out of her mind, Regina just hissed and watched him through her eyelashes.

It came to her just then, that the man was simply perfect, from the strong outline of his jaw, to the blue of his eyes and that deep blush taking over his cheeks…

But no, because that was not what she should be focusing on, she reached for his shirt and pulled it off, focusing instead on his chest and arms and the amazing feeling of having him completely filling her in.

Sex… yes, it was only that. That he happened to look and smell so good was just a small plus.

"Why don't we take this off too?"

He stopped for a second to take her shirt off and knowing he was going to struggle with the bra, she took it off herself. Once completely naked, he sneaked his arm between her back and the step, relieving the discomfort of the pressure as his mouth lowered down to kiss her chest.

"Aaah…" She moaned, closing her eyes and burying her hand into his hair. When he started to move again, his cock deep into her core, his mouth circled on her nipple and she was in heaven.

He was making her feel delirious… and as his tongue ran smoothly over her hard nipple and his thumb played with the other one, she couldn't help but to think about how easily it would be to get used to this, to him…

To his scent, to his erection burning its way into her, to his mouth sucking her flesh and yes, to his body warm and strong against hers… making her legs spread wide so that he could keep doing his thing.

But no, that was not what she needed in the long run.

Leaning forward, Regina pressed even more into him, pulling his head up and searching for his mouth to kiss, her tongue caressing his as he began to thrust into her a bit harder.

"I like that." She said into his mouth and yes, she really did, from the way his back felt underneath her touch, to the feeling of his erection filling her completely and ending in the way he was drinking her moans into his kiss… it was just too much. He was making her feel as if she was burning and if he kept like that, she was going to lose it soon.

"You love it, don't you?" He moaned, his free hand reaching down on her and making his thumb run against her clit.

That right there did it, one touch, one flicker and she felt the pressure let go. Next thing she knew, she was moaning and shivering against him.

Through it all, she couldn't help but to think about how she has forgotten how amazing it felt to come undone like that and she almost wished she could have this, him, forever.

Not that she was going to, of course, this was just sex after all and by reaching her orgasm already, her mission there was accomplished. She could even stop him from going on… but no, she didn't, she couldn't.

As she rode her climax down, Robin never ceased to thrust into her or to touch her. No, his movements became harder and his thumb never stopped touching her.

The sensation was so amazing that her limbs were failing her, she couldn't feel her legs and she was fighting hard against the need of screaming her pleasure away. It was just… dizzying.

"Don't hold it, I want to hear you." He whispered into her ear. Then he was dragging her to him until she could no longer feel the stairs underneath her.

A broken gasp escaped her when she realized what he was doing and her legs went to automatically circle around his waist while her arms went around his neck. She didn't want to fall, but more importantly, she didn't want him to slide out of her.

"What are you doing?" Amazed with the ease in which he picked her up and was now climbing the rest of the stairs, Regina licked her lips.

"I'm not going to finish making love to you on those stairs, where is your bedroom?"

Making love? She almost asked, hell… she almost pushed off of him to disappear, but something in the way he was intently looking at her made her stop herself from fleeing. Instead, she told him… her voice a breathless whisper as her mind kept going around those words.

Making love? No, they were just having sex… and that was not the same.

When he finally settled her down on the bed and climbed after her, she was fully determined to make him understand that. How? She wasn't sure, but luckily, he was the one who kept things from escalating when instead of resting on top of her to provide that skin on skin experience that could turn out to be too much, he simply sat on his heels and made her legs lift to his hips.

That way, with her back resting over the mattress, her hair spilling all over and her breast moving with the force of his thrusts, she felt a bit more at ease.

Sure, she was fully exposed like that, but for some reason, she was taking comfort on the way his eyes were drinking on her body like that, lustily moving from that spot between her legs he was pounding into, to the way her breasts were freely moving for him.

It was making the room feel sexually charged, which was what she was looking for, to detach any kind of feeling and keep it simple, and what better way to do that, than keeping things in that path?

"That's so good… don't stop." Throwing her arms over her head, Regina closed her eyes, biting into her lips as her mind became overcome with sensation.

As for Robin, he just kept at it, hissing and watching her, his fingers digging into her thighs as he kept thrusting into her.

"Mmm you look so good like that… shit… you feel even better."

His voice was raw, it felt rowdy and combining that to the feeling of him and she could say she was feeling delirious, that she couldn't get enough of it.

That was how she made her mistake, because wanting to see his face, she opened her eyes to find him looking right into her own brown orbs and right there, she felt it…

Like a slap to the face, she knew… that maybe in the present she wasn't there, but that back to when they were at the Enchanted Forest, she had loved this man and he had loved her.

She didn't know how she knew, but the fact was that she did… and it was because of that love, that their baby was conceived… because yes, there was no doubt in her mind now that this baby has his, theirs.

Opening her mouth, Regina gasped, overwhelmed, her eyes glued to his and feeling a pressure in her chest that wasn't letting her breathe normally.

It was insane, and now more than ever she felt the need of fleeing. "Robin…" She started to say, probably meaning to tell him to stop. But the thing was that no other word would form on her tongue and probably taking the way she brokenly said his name as an encouragement to keep going, what the thief did was blow out a breath and lean down.

He came to rest completely against her, kissing her and pushing so deep into her she wasn't sure where she ended and where he began. He was sliding into her hotly, his skin on her skin smooth and the pressure between her legs making her throb.

She was about to freak out, but the sensation of him, her soulmate and father of her baby was stronger and she was sure that she was going to come undone all over again.

"Do you feel this?"

He asked, pulling away from the kiss so that he could look into her eyes, and fuck yes she could feel it. She didn't want to say it though, so capturing his lips again, she went back to kissing him.

With their lips muffling their moans and with that unspoken feeling surrounding them, the two of them gave into each other, thrust after thrust sinking deeper into something neither one of them could comprehend. It was more than lust, it was more than what she would ever dare to admit, it was what it was.

Then, as their union reached its momentum and right before her womb exploded in pure delight, Regina moved her hips against him and squeezed him into her. He followed her close, spilling the essence of his being into her as his thrusts began to turn erratic, almost desperate.

She acted out of instinct then, holding him to her while kissing his mouth, his cheek, his chin, and it wasn't until he gave one final thrust into her that was accompanied with a low grow that she was able to little by little come back to herself.

And holy shit, what the hell had she done now?

For a moment they remained like that, Robin getting back to his senses and Regina wondering what the hell she was doing.

"Shit, Regina… that was..."

Clenching her jaw and taking on the feeling that he was still inside of her, the brunette woman closed her eyes and covered them with one of her hands.

"Oh my God."

Humming, he grabbed her hand and forced it out of her face. Then he caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers. "That was amazing."

Refusing to open her eyes, she licked her lips, the length of his body resting over her still warm and the feeling that he was still inside of her making her tingle everywhere. Still, she tried to sneak away from him… thing that was a bit hard to do since… well, his dick was still in her.

"Hey, look at me." He said when she groaned in frustration, probably sensing how she was about to freak out.

But because she didn't want him to know how affected he made her feel, she opened her eyes and looked at him.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine… I just need to breathe a little."

Frowning a little, Robin pulled away from her, moment that Regina took to clear her throat and sit. She also made a towel magically appear in her hand, one that she used to clean herself up. When she was done, she passed it to him and watched out of the corner of her eyes as he wiped himself clean.

It made her feel awkward, but wanting to clear the air a little and not make it look as she felt, she forced a smile on her face and sighed nonchalantly. "Well that was fun."

Robin's own lips curved into one of his dimple smiles. "Regina, that was more than fun, it was… out of this world. I can't even think straight right now."

She scoffed, because neither could her. She was a bit confused, more than a little overwhelmed and a lot freaked out. But she was not going to let him know that.

"I wish I could stay a bit longer now…"

"Oh," She began to say, feeling even more freaked out at the idea of having to deal with him with her emotions all over the place. "You don't have to, I know Roland will be waiting for you so don't sweat it."

With the smile still on his lips, Robin leaned into her and pressed his mouth to hers. It was a fleeting thing, barely a full kiss. "I can come over later, when he is asleep."

And shit, how dense could the man be? What she wanted was for him to go and leave her alone so that she could sort out what was going on. If he came back while she was feeling so lost, she could end up doing something stupid, like telling him he was her soulmate and that if he didn't mind, she would want to keep him.

"No it's alright, there are a few things I want to do in my Vault so I won't even be here."

"You have a Vault?" He asked, a snort escaping his lips as he buried his hand into her hair.

"And you have a band of thieves called the Merry Men, but do you see me calling you out for it?"

If her tone bothered him, it didn't show; actually, it seemed to amuse him, so rolling her eyes when he closed in for another kiss, she hummed.

Oh but she kissed him without hesitation, her mouth receiving him and her tongue engaging.

"Will I see you soon?" He asked once they kissed quite enough.

Not in a while, she thought, but keeping her mouth shut, she just nodded, leaning into him for one last kiss.

She watched him go after that, closing the door once he left and basically running into her bathroom.

"Oh my God…"

She mumbled over and over again as she took a shower, because yes, while most women would be over the moon over the fact that they just had sex to the man they loved, she was actually about to have a nervous breakdown.

" _Loved_." She pointed out to herself because whatever it was that she felt for Robin during the missing year, she definitely forgot it.

The way she saw it, now the circumstances were different, and that she in another parallel reality fell for him, didn't mean she had to fall for him in Storybrooke, right?

Musing about that, she heard someone knock on the door and rolling her eyes, she quickly thought of him.

"Really, didn't I tell him not to come over?"

Annoyed and knowing now she would never fall for him since he couldn't do something as simple as respecting her wishes, she went to the door, ready to tell him a thing or two.

The problem was that it was not Robin. No… it was a redhead, one she has never seen in her life but one she recognized in an instant.

Feeling on the defensive, Regina quickly lifted her hand and procured a fire ball to throw in the woman's face, but before it could even leave the palm of her hand, her method of defense of choice hissed and died.

It surprised her, especially when the redhead stepped forward, a wicked grin on her lips and her eyes shining bright.

"Is that the way you receive family, sis?"

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

The last thing Robin Hood expected to happen when he mysteriously woke up in that strange land the locals called Storybrooke, was that he was going to end up being completely taken by the Queen.

True, there was no denying that as soon as he laid his eyes on yes on her, he had been completely impressed by her beauty and intrigued by her aura. But this whatever it was that he was feeling now? No, he definitely hadn't been expecting that.

Not the sense of euphoria that wanted to take over him whenever he started thinking about her, not the bursting sensation menacing to erupt from deep within his very existence when his thoughts betrayed him and went back to what happened at her house the day before, and definitely not the way he felt his very essence wrapped around hers.

He wasn't exactly sure what was happening to him, but as he walked across his camp, feeling the crisp morning air filling his lungs and swirling softly around him, he couldn't help but have the distinct feeling that he was falling into a bottomless well of everything that was her. Instead of fighting it, he he was letting it be… he was simply closing his eyes and and letting himself be swallowed deep into her world.

"Hey there, mate, are you even listening to me?"

Taken out of his thoughts by the sudden interruption, the infamous leader of the Merry Men tilted his face to the side, his intention to take a look at the man that was walking by his side.

It was Will, and as soon as his eyes met him and he noticed the mocking grimace his bandmate was flashing his way, he couldn't help but to let a muffled chuckle escape past his lips.

"Sorry, I got distracted for a moment there."

"For a moment? Robin, you haven't been listening to a word I've been saying since I caught up with you. I could have told you I had tea with a bunch of ogres wearing tiaras last night and you would have just nodded… all while keeping that doltish smile plastered all over your face."

Puffing out a breath because he hadn't even been aware that he was unconsciously smiling, the outlaw lifted a hand to the top of his head and then he slowly started to lower it down his face.

"Alright, tell me again… I'm listening."

"Bloody hell that you are; so come on, just spit it already… tell me all about it because we both know that you want to."

Arching an eyebrow, Robin twisted his lips. "Spit what, exactly?"

"I don't know, maybe how yesterday you brought your Queen, also known as your baby's mummy to camp and then just disappeared… for hours on end only to come back smitten and all ditzy."

Unable to help it, a laugh escaped out of his mouth, but when Will started to smile knowingly, Robin just shook his head. "You know what, I always knew Little John was a bit of a gossip, but you, Will Scarlett?"

"No, I'm not into gossip and you know it. But I do have eyes, Robin of Locksley, and I know you. The way you're acting plus the things I already know can only mean one thing, you're letting yourself fall for the Queen, and you're falling hard."

Instead of quickly denying his friend's accustion, what Robin did was look straight forward, his stare getting lost into the dense foliage surrounding the camp.

"You're not a wee lad, so I'm not going to lecture you on this. But because I consider you my mate, I have to tell you to be careful though. Not only because it's too soon to be catching feelings, but also because this is not any bird we're talking about. She's the Evil Queen, Robin, and the waters you're diving yourself into are dangerous ones."

Shaking his head because no, the woman he was getting to know so well was more than just the Evil Queen, Robin cleared his throat. "She's carrying my child." She was also the woman who in a matter of nothing was making him feel like he was floating in the air like midnight smoke, and the one who after just one time together, made him feel like the world ended and began with her.

"First of all, you don't know that for sure, and second… I don't want to be an arse, but even if that child was indeed yours, that doesn't mean like you are obliged to stick by her."

Scoffing and sending a sideway glance Will's way, Robin shrugged. "I don't feel obliged. I don't know how I feel because… mate, I really don't know, but obliged is not it."

Could it be that he was indeed falling for her?

He wasn't sure. He knew it was too soon to be feeling so much, as it hadn't been too long since he started to interact with her. But at the same time, there was no other way to explain what was happening to him… why, every time he thought of her, he felt this bubbling sensation soaring through him, and the more he felt like that, the more complete, the more bewitching it felt.

"I just hope you know what you're doing."

"Quite honestly… I don't know what the bloody hell I'm doing, but it feels right, you know? And yes, I know it hadn't been too long since we got here and I got to look at her face for what I was sure was the first time, but at the same time, it feels like we were never even strangers to begin with. My mind doesn't remember the past year, but it's like the rest of me does. She has this pull on me that I can't turn an blind-eye to and no, it isn't because of the baby."

"Well, it could be because she's a stunner. Any man would be way over his head if he had her favor, and from what I saw yesterday, she didn't look too thrown off by you. She probably let you snog her, maybe more... so yes, of course you were going to be looking all kinds of funny today."

Chuckling, Robin shook his head. Not because he wanted to imply he wasn't physically attracted to her because he was, or because he wanted to deny that he was still feeling like walking on cloud nine after bedding her, no… he did it because those were not the only reasons why he felt so strongly taken by her.

What he felt was deeper, a soul thing, as if his destiny was inexplicably entangled to hers and now that he finally found her, it was refusing to let go. There were not many words to describe it, but it definitely felt like they were always meant to be. And maybe he couldn't remember how that came to happen, but every fiber of his being was aware of it, and thus why he couldn't stop thinking about her.

Yes, it sounded corny and as if he was reaching too far, but there was no other way to explain the pull the woman had on him.

Thinking that she was written in his stars since the very beginning, explained why he has been so inexplicably drawn to her since that first time he saw her up close and personal, and it would explain how she made him feel like his soul was on fire just by having her near. It would as well be a hell of a lot telling, when it came to the fact that she made his entire skin vibrate and his heart burst into a million pieces just by making her his.

But back to what his friend just said, Robin ended up sucking into a deep long breath before letting it escape through his mouth.

"I'm just going to say that I'm happy, and that I haven't felt like this in a long time so bear with me a little here, yes?"

"Yes, yes… I just… need to know how to refer to you from now on, because you jumped from plain thief to Prince consort mate, and it's all a tad too much to take at once."

"Bugger off, you... gormless wanker." Robin scoffed, his tone too lighthearted for Will to take them as really insulting. That was probably why he kept on with his nonsense.

"Prince of thieves has a nice ring to it, but I say you shouldn't mind etiquette and just call yourself a bloody King."

Groaning but too overjoyed to feel annoyed, Robin tried to change the context of their talk by asking him about the rounds he did outside of camp the night before. He listened this time, but at the same time, part of his brain kept swirling around Regina.

He wanted to see her. Hell, he had wanted to go to her since the night after he put Roland to sleep. If he refrained from doing it back then or even that morning when he woke up, it was because he didn't want to overwhelm her.

But the thing was, that the more time it passed, the more he felt the need to head her way grow inside of him. It was taking control of all of him until it became an itch to see her, to make sure she was still alright with what happened between them and then, if she was, which he was pretty much sure was the case because there was no way she didn't feel the way they connected, he would spend whatever time he could with her.

He didn't care doing what. Tracking the Wicked Witch, going to the Charmings so that she could turn all sassy and annoyed with them, or just sitting in her kitchen watching her make enough cup-cakes to feed his Merry Men for two straight days.

He just wanted to see her… to have her safe and near.

He was going to wait though, to give her some time, and then, just after midday, he was going to go to her.

It was with that thought in mind that he spent his entire morning going around his business around camp. He also sat with his boy for a while during his reading lessons and even had time to indulge into a little playing. He checked the supplies, sent a few men hunting deep into the woods and arranged a group of scouts to be on the lookout for Zelena's whereabouts.

It was still a bit shy of noon when they came, Emma Swan and David, one looking more worried than the other, but both looking for the same thing.

"We lost them, Gold… and Neal, you know. Um, I don't know how it happened but we were wondering if you had some men to spare so that they could help us search for him... or them? I'm not really sure how that works but yeah… a little help could come handy-"

"Listen." Emma interrupted the man that Robin was still having problems identifying as her father. "I was told you were one of the best trackers in Storybrooke, so we definitely need your help in this one."

"Yeah, sure. I have a few of my men trying to track the Wicked Witch, but I can tell them to switch the search. If he or well… _them_ , came here into the woods, they'll find them before the day is over."

"That's the thing, we are not even sure he came here. He just vanished out of thin air. But we have some witnesses who claim to have seen Zelena all out and about town, and we are afraid she has something to do with his disappearance."

"Alright… that will kind of complicate things a little, as we can't track anyone if we don't at least know where to look for. Maybe Regina-"

"No, listen, we came here because we need _you_ and your tracking skills. I don't know if you are aware of this, but Neal is in real danger here. If he ends up in the hands of someone who can separate him from Gold, he's going to be done for and that can't happen."

Biting his lips shut because he was sure the Queen's dislike of the woman was rubbing on him and he has never been good at holding back his quick tongue too long, Robin narrowed his eyes. "When you mean someone who can separate them, you mean Regina?"

"Or the Wicked Witch, for all we know they both hold the same interests of having the Dark One around and in their control."

"Well I can't vouch for the Wicked Witch, but if Regina wanted that, she would have done so when _you_ were demanding her to actually separate them?"

Snorting, Emma did a double take. "Excuse me?"

"Listen, I don't have the same willingness of Regina to go in a back and forth with you, so I won't. I'll help you find Neal in whatever way I can because I appreciate him and wouldn't want any harm to come his way, but that's about it. It's certainly not because you came here asking not-so nicely."

Emma didn't answer thim, but she did turn to David and groaned. "Seriously? This is the guy you said was of the good ones and that would help? He seems pretty brainwashed by Regina if you ask me."

"Emma…"

"No, don't Emma me, this was stupid, I'm going to find Neal by myself and guess what, I'll figure out how to save him too."

Feeling like he should step in and tell the woman to lower her revolution down a notch as he did agree to help, Robin arched an eyebrow. "Or you could put aside your pride and ask Regina the same way you asked me. A little nicer, maybe, but I'm sure she'll-"

"My pride, you think my pride is what is stopping me from going to her? Trust me, we are talking about the man I love, so there is no pride in asking for help to save him. Regina was actually the first person I went to; but guess what? She is nowhere to be found, and excuse me if this offends you or if it gets your panties up in a bunch, but the fact that she disappeared the same night Gold did, leaves much to the imagination."

Frowning and feeling his stomach start feeling a little funny, Robin's eyes settled deep into the blonde woman's. "Nowhere to be found? You mean she's not at her house?"

"No she's not, so tell me if that doesn't seem a little suspicious to you?"

Robin gasped, his hand lifting to his jaw as he looked from one Charming to the other. "Are you two even serious? You come here to tell me that Gold or whatever you call the Dark One here, disappeared on your watch, so you immediately think the Wicked Witch might have got him just because she was seen out and about. But then Regina also disappears the same night, she vanishes, and even though everyone knows she's the one the witch is really after, it doesn't even cross your mind to think there's something odd with that?"

Emma frowned, David just looked at him dumbly… and that was all it took for Robin to turn his back around to start walking away from them.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to look for her, as it is obvious I am the only one who cares."

Everything that happened next happened in a blur. He had the vague notion of going straight into his tent so that he could grab his crossbow, but then he was quickly starting his search for her.

He began at her house, which he found pretty much the same way he left it the day before. Sure, the door was locked, which gave a certain sense of relief to his out of control imagination, but the bed was unmade, the glass of whiskey she gave to him was in the same place he left it, and the clothes he helped take off her body as they kissed and touched all over, were still laying along the stairs. In his mind, that wasn't a good sign, because Regina could look like she was a lot of things, but untidy was not one of them.

Sucking into a shaky breath, Robin tried to ignore the part of him that was regretting not going to her the way he wanted the night before and he walked out of the house.

He needed to keep his mind clear, and he did it by going with what he had. She said she needed to do something at her Vault, so meaning to make his way there, he started to move.

He tried to get there as fast as he could, but unfortunately, he had to stop and ask where the bloody hell could he found such a place, and then when he was put on his way, he tried to do it as calmly as he could.

It was hard though, because yes, Regina was not only a strong woman, but apparently one of the most powerful sorcerers all around and he didn't doubt she could take good care of herself. But at the same time, he couldn't help but to feel a deep sense of dread eating him inside out with the thought that something could have happened to her.

What if this Zelena got her? What if the witch was somehow controlling the Dark One's now and she used that power to get to Regina?

He wouldn't know what to do with himself if that happened, because it would be all his fault.

Clenching his jaw as hard as he could, the outlaw made it to the infamous Vault, and even though it took him a minute to break into it, he managed, his heart hammering so hard into his chest he was sure his ribcage was going to break.

It was one of the most intense feelings he had felt as of late, the fear and impotence of not being able to move quicker. Luckily, all of that dwindled down the moment he walked in and found her there, safe and in one piece.

"Bloody hell, Regina." Lowering his crossbow to the floor so that he could use his hands to run them through his hair instead, Robin puffed out a breath. Then, before he knew it, he was walking to her.

His intention was to hug her, maybe even kiss her, but once his eyes took on her posture and the way she was looking at him, he halted on his tracks.

"What are you doing here?" She said, and her voice was not necessarily cold, but it wasn't bursting with warmth either, and that was something that worried him a little.

She also looked too pale, her eyes too glassy and her back so straight it looked like she could break in two at any given moment.

Swallowing on dry, Robin blinked a couple of times. "I've been looking all over town for you. Rumpelstiltskin disappeared and… well, the Wicked Witch was seen around town before that happened as well, so when I heard you were nowhere to be found-"

"Let me guess? You thought I was the one making him vanish?"

"What? No-" Not minding the piercing glance she was sending his way, Robin walked to her, grabbing the back of her head in his hands and pressing his forehead to hers. "I was worried."

At his words, Regina inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. For a moment, she lifted her chin so that her nose could bump against his, but then, she was pulling away, her face an unreadable mask as she blinked her eyes open.

"I'm fine as you can see. You can leave at peace now."

Pulling away as well, Robin blinked rapidly a few times. Was she kicking him out? And yes, he already knew how she valued her privacy and didn't like people being all over her… but… he just spent the past few hours of his life feeling sick to his stomach with the mere thought of something bad happening to her… so it definitely rubbed him the wrong way the easiness in which she was trying to get rid of him.

For a couple of seconds, he just stood there, staring at her, noticing the way she was evading to look at him in the eye and not liking it.

"Regina." He grabbed her chin and tilted it towards him. She did nothing other than close her eyes and clench her jaw.

It made him wonder why she was acting like that, because yes, he had seen her in all kinds of moods now, but in none of them, had she ever refused to look at him in the eye.

"Is everything alright?"

"Just go." She ended up hissing, her eyes opening so that she could finally look at him, her eyes dark and hard on him.

It was the way he was sure she looked at people back to when she was the Evil Queen. Instead of feeling intimidated, what he felt was a heaviness settle deep into his chest, because no, it was not a stare full of hate, but one full of repressed sorrow, and the pain he found in them was actually a hard thing to take in.

"Regina, what happened?"

Her lips snarled, and only then, did it occur to him that she could be like that because of what happened between them the day before.

He didn't want to think so, but what if it was? What if she was regretting it?

Puffing out a breath and opening his mouth to speak, he lifted his hands in the air. "Is this because of yesterday?"

Her eyes were still hard on him and her chin lifted a little, but then she was blinking and looking away. "Nothing of importance happened yesterday, so forget about it and just go."

Her words took him aback, they made him freeze on the spot because what did she mean with nothing of importance? They made love, and he was sure she felt the same connection he felt.

He saw it in her eyes, felt it in the way she kissed him and definitely in how she responded to him. They have been magic, so he didn't get what the bloody hell was she talking about.

"Nothing? What happened between us, was definitely not _nothing_ , Regina…"

"It was sex, which it's the same. It was meaningless, so if you came here thinking you were going to get a repeat, I'll have to inform you that it's not going to happen. So take your crossbow, and get the hell out of my vault."

Feeling like the air was not getting to his lungs, he snorted, only that there was no sense of amusement in him. He was actually feeling devastated… and confused, a hell of a lot confused. "Are you serious?"

As if to prove her point, she lifted a hand, her palm face up and a flame growing out of it. "Very."

Shaken by the way she was basically menacing him, Robin blinked one time and then two, his instinct telling him to just go, but his stubborn arse refusing to… not yet.

"So you'll burn me to a crisp? Alright, go ahead and do it, hit me with it. But do it looking at me in the eye… come on."

Her eyes shone darker, and for a moment he was sure this was how his stupid arse was going to die. But then the flame was extinguishing and she was groaning, launching forward so that she could push him.

"Get the hell out of here."

The impact of her hands pushing against his chest made him stumble a little, but just because she caught him by surprise. Then, he was standing his ground, half surprised by how she was acting and half broken by the fact that she wanted him gone so bad, that she was even recurring to getting physical with him.

"Go away and forget about me."

Sucking into a shaky breath, Robin clenched his jaw and nodded, because yes, he had a lot of flaws, but wanting to stick where he was not wanted was not one of them.

"What about the baby?"

"There's no baby, so you can rest easy on that one as well."

Gasping, he took a step towards her. "What… what do you mean?"

"I got rid of it. I realized I didn't want it so I got it out of me." Her voice trembled as her eyes shone even brighter, but her chin never even lowered.

Robin was aghast and even starting to fume. She was fucking lying to him. He didn't know how he knew, but he did…

"Yeah, and when did you do it?"

Shrugging and keeping the same attitude, she assured him. "Yesterday. So with no child, no need for you to stick around."

The infamous archer took another step towards her, one that made her tense, as he ended up back to being too close. "Why are you lying to me?"

His words apparently made her mood get even sourer, it showed in the way her shoulders tensed. "How dare you-"

Before she could even finish, Robin grabbed her face hard between his hands and kissed her. He kissed her hard, and even though her entire body froze at first, she allowed him to deepen it, his tongue swiftly brushing against hers until she started to give back into the kiss.

For a while that was all they did, kiss, with Robin's hands burying into her hair as he little by little backed her against a wall.

Once he had her there, he pulled away. "I'm going to ask you again. Why are you lying to me?"

And yes, he was mad that she was trying to trick him with such a horrible lie, but at the same time, he needed to know why she was trying to push him so bloody hard. Kissing her seemed to do the job of lowering her revolutions, and if he had to do it until she spat it all out, he was going to do it.

"Please just go, if you care about anyone at all, including your son… or even this one, you'll just go."

Taking that as an admission that she was still carrying his child, Robin scoffed. "You have to give me something more than that. Why the lie, Regina?"

"Because…" She shrugged, shaking her head and closing her eyes hard; Robin kissed her again, deep, until she seemed to have no breath.

She also seemed to have no will for holding up anymore, because right after he was done kissing her, her body leaned completely against him, her face to his shoulder as he wrapped her up in an embrace.

Despite the lie, he felt something in his heart tug, because he felt it… felt how she was holding something big, and he was sure that was the reason why she lied in such a delicate subject.

"Talk to me." Drinking on the way she melted in his arms, Robin buried his nose into her hair. He breathed into her scent like that, taking notice how she was shaking a little, he also had the distinct feeling that she was trying to hold herself from crying and if anything, that made him wonder harder about what happened.

But he wasn't going to push it, as he was sure the harder he did that, the stronger she would try to keep things to herself; so instead, he opted for another approach.

That's why he kissed her again, softer this time, almost languidly.

When she didn't protest and even started to kiss him back, her hands in his hair and her tongue moving with his, he lifted her up, carrying her around the room until he found somewhere he could lower her down. He went down with her, still kissing her, his hands working on a way to undress her; because no, now that his soul found her, he was not going to let her slip through his fingers just like that.

TBC

Next: We'll find out what happened with Zelena that has Regina so shaken...


	14. Chapter 14

" _Well, aren't you going to invite me in, little sister?"_

_Tilting her chin up as her eyes remained glued to the mocking smile the woman standing right outside her door was flashing her way, Regina Mills wrapped her hand around the door handle, her fingers flexing and her own lips curving into what could easily be mistaken for an amused grin._

_It wasn't, actually, as she was anything but amused, but she did feel a sudden rush of adrenaline traveling all the way to her head and the feeling was in a way exhilarating._

_It brought heat to her face, a hard beat to her heart and an electrifying tingle to her fingertips that indicated how much her body wanted to release some magic._

_True, there was also a strong feeling of imminent danger breathing down her neck that was telling her to hold on until she could be sure what the witch really wanted, but that didn't stop her from making her want to confront her any less._

" _The name is Regina, and no, you can't come in."_

_Clicking her tongue, the woman simply walked a step forward, keeping her eyes locked with hers. "Regina, little sis… tsk, it's actually the same if you come to think about it. I mean we do share the same mother after all."_

_At such ridiculous claim, Regina's eyes narrowed. "I think you are mistaking me for somebody else, I am an only child."_

_Licking her lips and going back to that mocking smile, Zelena hummed. "No you're not. Believe me when I said that Cora lied to you. I am your sister. Well, half sister if I'm going to be more precise; but call it what you want to, it doesn't matter, as it all goes around the fact that I am our mother's firstborn."_

_Feeling the corner of her lips twitch, Regina arched an eyebrow. "Oh really, and I should believe you just because…?"_

" _You shouldn't. I mean I wouldn't if I were you, but you can always confirm it by other means."_

_Shaking her head a little, Regina bared her teeth, her grip on the door handle getting tighter and all her senses almost jumping. "I think you are out of your mind, witch."_

" _Am I?" She asked with a small laugh. "Why don't you go and check for yourself. Dig deep, ask The Dark One, or do whatever you need to do to learn the truth because Regina, when I finish with the legacy of the one and only Evil Queen, I want it to be with you knowing who I am and all the things you took away from me."_

_At the way the woman spat the words, Regina gasped, a mixture of disbelief and wariness at her deranged mind sweeping all through her. "I didn't take anything from you, I don't even know you."_

" _Oh but you did, you took everything. The name, the Kingdom, the legacy… you even took my mother, and you know what that means? It means that everything you ever had or even have right now, I'm going to take back."_

_As soon as the woman said that, she took a step forward, menacingly and yes, even though she couldn't say she was afraid, Regina did get in defensive mode. Then, a hand was lifted in her direction, a hand that pretty much looked like it was aiming to touch her and that was it._

_It happened fast, way too fast, but in the second that it took Zelena to move, Regina for some reason thought of her baby and she reacted without thinking, procuring a fireball in the palm of her hand and throwing it right at Zelena._

_It was meant to hit her right in the face, but before it could do such a thing, Zelena lifted her own hand and with a quick swirl of her wrist, she ended up suffocating the flame while at the same time, she sent Regina flying back and away._

_It was nauseating, the way in which she was lifted in the air and simply thrown back dizzying; but then as if that wasn't enough, a sudden gush of pain jolted throughout her body as she hit the wall that led into her living room; and while she has had them worse, the way in which this impact took her breath away made her feel on the verge of freaking out._

_Not because of her, but the baby… her baby._

_Hitting the ground and fighting the urge of putting a protective arm against her stomach, Regina got up, her eyes sending daggers at Zelena and the way in which she was walking into her house as if she owned the damn place._

" _I have to tell you, I am very disappointed, sis. With all the hype and talk about you, I really thought you had more fight in you. I also thought that you and your little gang coming with this curse and dragging me along sans memories was because you were actually a good sorcerer. Well, I guess I was wrong, huh?"_

_Snarling her lips, Regina got ready to throw her another fireball, but just like the other ones, Zelena made it die out in a hiss. Right after that, she used magic to push her back against the wall, this time immobilizing her._

" _Give it up, Regina. You can't beat me… not even on your best day; after all, everything The Dark One taught you, I learned it better so your little tricks won't work on me. I also didn't come tonight to fight so save your strength for another day and for now, just take the little gift I'm going to give you."_

" _I don't want any gift from you." The Queen hissed, her eyes scorching._

" _Yeah, well… I shall give it to you anyway. My gift will be time for you to prepare, to go and confirm that I'm telling you the truth and yes, why not? Time so you can kiss everyone you've become so fond of goodbye. Your son that doesn't remember you, oh and let me tell you how satisfying it is to know how this is tearing you apart. Then it is Snow White and that baby of hers I might want to take as well, and yeah, Robin and his midnight visits… that one I will definitely also keep. Then it will be this town, and your house and your whole life... because come tomorrow, you will lose it all."_

_Snickering at her own words, Zelena stepped back and then, leaving nothing but the echo of her wicked laugh and a misty green smoke behind, she was gone… leaving Regina standing there, a hand to her stomach, her mind racing, and the unsettling feeling that this witch was in fact stronger that her eating her inside out._

_There was just no way that she was her sister though, right? Because that would be the ultimate slap to the face from Cora._

_Blowing out a breath because she wouldn't put anything past her mother anymore, Regina closed her eyes, thinking that sister or no, she couldn't allow the Wicked Witch to win this one. Not when so much was at stake… including her unborn baby, even if Zelena didn't even know._

_Now how could she defeat her? There was only one way to find out… and if she wanted to know, she needed to get him…_

**_*********_**

Regina was slipping right through his fingers.

He could feel it happening; her muscles tensing up, her hands curling into fists and pressing to his back, her face turning to the side to escape his kiss…

It was something that happened without warning; one moment she was kissing him, her naked thigh sliding up his body until it was wrapped around his hips and then she was slacking back, sighing out loud as he rained soft kisses up her jaw and towards her cheek.

The sudden change made him halt for a second because he just had to take a look at her face to know what was going on, but when he did, he was greeted by the sight of her eyes tight shut and her lips pursed into a grimace, and that left much to his imagination.

His first thought was that he was hurting her, or that she somehow decided that this was not what she wanted and was now sick to her stomach about what they were doing. It made him feel terrible, because he did kind of push this encounter on her. But when he tried to pull away and apologize for his wrongdoings, her leg went back around his hip and her face was back to being right in front of his own.

"No, don't go… don't… not yet."

"Regina-" He breathed out because he was really at a loss about what was going on in that intricate mind of hers. But before he could go on, his body acted on his own accord and instead of asking her what was troubling her so much, he caught her bottom lip between his teeth and pulled lightly at it, the tip of his tongue running smoothly over her moist flesh.

It was something he did without thinking, but also with no intention of taking it further.

But when he felt the way her lips parted so that her tongue could slide out and touch his, he had no choice but to comply.

That was when the small rational part of his brain that still remained on him and that was pushing for him to stop acting so that he could talk to her instead, abandoned him for good.

Tilting his chin to the left and with his hand sliding to the back of her head, Robin allowed his tongue to take control over the situation and in a matter of seconds, they were back at fully kissing.

No hesitance from her part, and definitely no doubts about whether what he was doing was right or wrong from his.

It all was happening fast now, and in the rush of the moment, all rational thought abandoned him so that the only thing he could focus on was in the way her tongue felt moving against his.

It was good, she felt good, and no matter how he basically just had her less than a full day away, and no matter how she tried to deceive him about their baby, he couldn't help but to feel his desire soar.

That was how bad he had it for her.

As the kiss went on, he felt her hands moving back to his shoulders and then to his neck, resting there to hold him in place. That made him wonder about these sudden changes in her, the pushing and pulling…

One moment she wanted him gone, then she melted into his arms while on the verge of a breakdown, and now it was this...

Now, she was willingly getting dragged into the moment and he couldn't help but to wonder what happened for her to be shifting so much.

Shutting his mind from those thoughts, Robin slid his hands from her head to her sides, his fingers running down her ribs and towards her waist and hips, and then all the way to her tights. Once there, he dragged his digits back up, only that this time they sneaked further beneath her so that he could grab the generous flesh of her round behind.

That's when she pulled away from his kiss again, her breath labored and her lips moist and swollen. "We can't be doing this."

Her words were barely above a whisper and they were told while her hands were still holding his head to her, so letting instinct be guided by her actions instead of her words, Robin took a handful of her flesh and pulled her hard to him, his lips descending down from her lips and heading to her throat.

"Why not?"

By then, the infamous archer was hard and throbbing because shit, he was pressed so close against her heated center, and the promise of what he could get from there was enough to make him lose his composure a little bit more.

"Because..." She said in a breath, but instead of pushing him away, she just threw her head back to give room to his exploring lips.

Groaning because she felt too good to be real, Robin kissed the column of her neck, his lips nipping and exploring at will.

Blinking slowly and her cheek coming to rest against his raspy one, Regina didn't say anything else; she just allowed him to feel her up for a while until his hand found a way that led him straight between her legs.

He touched her there, finding endearing that the first thing his fingers noticed was the liquid warm heat waiting for him. He would have said something witty about it, but whatever he was going to say got stuck on his throat as soon as he heard the low gasp that escaped her lips as soon as he touched her.

Finding her mouth to kiss again, Robin parted the lower lips of her sex so that his middle finger could delve deeper. In his exploration, he found the small bundle of nerves she kept hiding and he circled it, making her moan into his mouth.

Her reaction made him twitch in anticipation so he kissed her harder, his tongue invading the sweet cave of her mouth as his finger went ahead and ran circles around her opening. Maybe the finger pressed into her a little, as he was starting to feel it slide into her.

"Mmm, that feels good."

Encouraged by her words, his finger went all the way in without any resistance, getting swallowed into her wet velvety core and making her tremble against him. Robin felt the way her body reacted and for a second, he remained still, but then time started to drag and he added movement to his ministrations. His finger sliding in, and then almost out, in, and then back out.

He went at it for a while, kissing her and taking one of her hands to place it right over his hard-on. Regina didn't protest against that and she even ran the palm of her hand over his length, her fingers circling around him and getting a good feel of him.

"How about this, does it feel good?" Robin asked, dragging his thumb over her clit, loving the way her hips were bucking to meet his thrusts.

The raspy moan she emitted as a response worked sorcery on him, the simple fact that she was enjoying herself making his body act on primitive sensory level. This was Regina, the Queen, and he was making her moan and tremble without even showing her half the things he could do to her.

Because yes, he bedded her the night before, but he didn't get to enjoy her at full capacity and now, now he was going to indulge a little bit more.

With that in mind and wanting to make her enjoy it even more, Robin slid down by her side, kissing her ribcage, her stomach and her pubic bone as he kept moving in the direction he wanted to. Once in place and accommodating himself between her legs, he pushed a second finger in her, parting her and feeling the warm wetness of her arousal as his eyes drank on the sight of her in all her glory.

She was pliable, encouraging him to go on with a series of soft whimpers that made his arousal twitch in neglect; but because she was so much into it and this was all about her, he ignored it, leaning his face to her instead. He pressed his lips against her bare flesh, the tip of his tongue tasting her.

"Oh my God… Robin-" Another moan, this time he felt her fingers tightening on his hair, encouraging him to keep going. Not like he needed the encouragement, he was going to keep going until she begged him for more.

The taste of her was intoxicating, this was her in the most intimate and he couldn't get enough, he lapped at her entrance and he sucked into his mouth her special bundle of nerves until her body was a trembling mess.

"Do you want me to stop?" He asked, his voice low in his throat.

"No… don't stop." She whimpered.

"What was that? I can't hear you, Regina." He pulled away from her and looked up and bloody hell, he has been wrong before. Now it was when she found her more stunning: aroused, with her lips parted and eyes staring deep into his. She was beyond beautiful, and he was going to make her his... forever.

"Don't stop, God don't stop." She moaned, her darkening eyes casted down on him.

He complied to her needs, grabbing her thighs apart, his tongue going back to work on her until her breathing got even more ragged. He did her in until her grip on his hair got stronger and until she reached the edge of her passion with a symphony of soft moans that made him ache for her.

After she rode down her wave of pleasure, Robin moved up and after he accommodated himself back to the position, he kissed her, trying to get a moment to collect himself.

Yes, it was silly, but watching her reach the edge was an experience that much like the night before, shook him. Knowing that he was the one who brought her there, even if the circumstances were kind of different with the lie she tried to pull on him, he couldn't help but to feel his ego burst.

The lie was something he would address later and she would tell him, he was sure… but now, it was this.

Ready to keep things going, Robin looked at her. Once they were face to face, he pressed himself to her, lifting one of her legs and positioning his body in a way that it was going to take him only a little push to get inside of her.

"Is this alright?"

"Yeah..." She breathed out, brushing her hair out of her face.

Robin pursed his lips and looked at her through darkening eyes. "You know I won't let you try to shun me out, right?" Not giving her time to answer, he pushed deep inside of her with a single thrust, closing his eyes and grunting at the sensation.

"Ohh…"

In that position, Regina felt warm and tight; that was the first thing he noticed, that and that it felt great to be buried inside of her again.

He was pretty sure she liked it too, because the deeper he went, the more she hissed in what appeared to be pleasure.

Once settled in, he felt her nails digging into the skin of his shoulders. The sensation made him open his eyes for a second before capturing her lips in a hungry kiss.

She kissed him back as soon as his lips touched hers, letting him know that she was very much into the whole thing.

"Do you still want me to keep going?" He mumbled against her lips, pushing into her slow but steady.

"Yes." She panted, the sound of her voice giving him more fuel. It made him kiss her even harder.

Her acceptance was too much for his body to take and after a while of her breathy moans and deep kisses, he began to feel his momentum reaching its top. It was going to be a matter of a few more thrusts and he would be a goner.

"Shit you feel so good."

"Mm, you too… so, so good… I could come again just like this."

Sucking in a breath because he didn't think he had it in himself to hold on until she came on him again by that pace, Robin slid his hand between their bodies and rubbed his fingers to her clit. He did it until he heard her moan, and without slowing down his thrusts, he kept working her nice.

When she came, her hips shooting up and her moans raspy and loud, he had it.

Refusing to let go of her lips, he grabbed her hips and increased his rhythm, going at her a bit faster and so much deeper, rocking against her until his climax reached him and he exploded inside of her.

He grunted, his mind getting so fussy that he couldn't coordinate well. He even had to end the kiss, all his senses focusing on the amazing feeling of letting go inside of her.

"Fuck…"

With a growl he pushed into her one last time. For a second, he rested his forehead to hers and breathed in, enjoying the calmness of the moment as much as he could.

Meanwhile, Regina was just there, laying underneath him with her eyes closed and her lips a little pouted. As he watched her, he couldn't help but to feel once again that she was shutting him out.

"Regina, look at me… talk to me."

Breathing deep in and clenching her jaw, she just shrugged. "You should go… I'm not what or who you think I am, okay… and whatever it is that you are looking in me is not what you are going to find… so just go now."

"I told you, Regina, I am not going to let you shun me out-"

Before he could go on, the Queen opened her eyes and with the corner of her lips turned up, she scoffed. "You don't get it. Everyone was right when they pointed their fingers at me, they were right… I…. I have Rumpelstiltskin, and the dagger, and if I have to, I'm going to use them both to end the Wicked Witch once and for all...

TBC


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Huge thanks to Morgan for the beta work, and Tiffany for always brainstorning with me. Enjoy!

_Regina had been acting strange as of late. She was edging on being cold and distant in the mornings, completely absent and out of sight throughout the day, and silent and pensive at night._

_It was almost as if her body was there, ever present, but her mind was thousands of miles away. This demeanor was making her come off as so unlike the woman with a sharp tongue and a quick mind that he had come to know and love, that on more than one occasion, Robin had been left wondering about her._

_Outside of their bedchamber, people would simplify her behavior by saying she was in a bloody rotten mood and in a way, he understood their logic, as Regina could come off as rude and ill-humored most of the time. But he knew her better than anyone else in that castle, and he didn't share the belief that the way she was acting was because she was in one of her sour moods._

_No. He knew his Queen, and if anything, she was acting like she was slowly drifting away, like she was detaching herself from everything and everyone in that castle and he couldn't deny it, he was starting to get worried._

_The first few days he noticed this behavior, he didn't make much of it. First, because she would always end up snuggled in his arms when it was time for them to go to bed and in a way, that made him feel some sort of normalcy. Second, because he had been pretty busy organizing his men to strengthen the castle's defenses, and his mind had been all over the place as well._

_He knew how exhausting their days had become with the menace of Zelena looming upon them, so in the chaos that reigned, he assumed Regina was just tired like the rest of them._

_She had been working relentlessly on finding a way to take the witch down, and strong as she was, the long hours and the constant picking at her own brain was bound to have a toll on her one way or another. So he let her be, trying to support her in whatever way he could without smothering her._

_But when the days kept passing by and her appetite became nonexistent, when she refused to get out of bed in the mornings in favor of sleeping until noon while becoming more and more aloof, he started to pay more attention._

_That's when he started to take notice of other things. Like how she was starting to lose weight, that she was always tired and moody with everyone around her, and that no amount of make-up could hide how pale she really looked._

_The only thing that apparently made her regain some of her semblance was spending time with Roland or laying with him at night, their limbs tangled and her arms holding him a little too tightly._

_She would say that she was fine and kiss his questions away whenever he asked, and yes, the promise of having her always so pliant and carefree would momentarily make him let go of some of his worries. But as soon as morning came and her aloof attitude would become a repetitive cycle, he would go back to being worried._

_He couldn't keep letting things go on that way. Not anymore. So that night he needed to know, he needed her to talk to him once and for all._

" _Regina…" He whispered softly, knowing this was the best moment to get her to open up. She was naked and in his arms, her head resting against his chest and her body completely spent after their lovemaking._

_It was when she was like that, floating somewhere in that sweet limbo between still being awake but already drifting off into a deep slumber, that she would let her walls completely come down for him to peek in._

_She told him she loved him in one of those trances, her voice raw and full of some irrational doubts that he was quick to kiss away. She would also openly talk about Henry when she was like that. About her life, her regrets, and even about the fear that she wasn't strong enough to defeat her sister. Therefore, he was sure he could get her to talk about what was bothering her now._

" _Are you awake?"_

_The Queen's response was a low hum, torn from the deepest parts of her being. Knowing she wasn't yet too far gone in Morpheus' arms, Robin buried his fingers in her hair, stroking her tenderly._

_The movement made the alluring scent of her dark locks hit him full force and he breathed it in, thinking that it was in moments like this that he loved her the most._

_In his arms, she wasn't the Queen, or the imposing being everyone pegged her for. She wasn't even the sorcerer people expected to defeat the Wicked Witch. No, she was Regina, the woman who stole his heart, the one who was making him feel like he never imagined he would ever feel in his life. She was just the woman who never stopped surprising him by being so contradicting, strong and soft at the same time, clever, and impetuous, but completely fragile and vulnerable when it came to matters of the heart._

" _Are you going to tell me what's inside that pretty head of yours now? And please, don't tell me everything is fine, because you know it isn't."_

_Regina's body tensed against him for a second. Then, she turned completely to her side, her leg sliding over his as she buried her face in the hollow between his arm and his side. She remained like that for a long time, and sensing she was trying to organize her thoughts before blurting them out, he kissed the top of her head._

" _You know you can tell me anything, right?"_

_And really, by this point in their relationship, there was not much they kept hidden from each other, and there wasn't much they couldn't pick up on from their moods. That was why he was pretty sure what she was going to say._

_Summing it up, she would admit that she was obsessing a little too much over putting an end to her sister, and how the pressure of doing it was taking a toll on her. Not only mentally, but also physically._

_If she hadn't said it before, it was because she was so bloody stubborn. But she was going to say it now, that she was overworking herself._

_There could also be a confession about how she was second-guessing her own strength when it came to defeating her sister, and that she had been acting so unlike herself because she was digging herself deeper and deeper into her own frustrations..._

" _I think I'm pregnant."_

_Taken completely aback by the abrupt confession, Robin's hand stopped. It remained still in her hair as he tried to make sense of what he just heard. He even stopped breathing, his eyes narrowing as her words started to bounce inside his head. Did she just say what he thought she said?_

_Laughing because that was just what he did, laugh in the most inopportune moments, Robin grabbed her chin to make her look at him. "Wait… what?"_

_Sucking on a deep breath, Regina closed her eyes. She looked distressed, almost beaten by her own words. "This... was not supposed to happen. I don't even know how I could even be with child because I'm not… I can't have children, I told you about that. But then this happened, and I thought it was a bug but it isn't, Robin. I did a spell, and it-."_

" _Alright." The former thief cut her off, his mind swirling. "Let's take a deep breath and go over this again. What spell are we talking about here, and how come you never told me any of this?"_

_The brunette's eyes opened, the brown of them almost liquid. "Because I didn't want to believe it. I still don't, it's impossible."_

_Nodding but failing to understand the logic behind ignoring the situation, Robin chewed the inside of his cheek. "Regina, if there is one thing I've learned in this life, it is that nothing is impossible. I think you should know that too. So why don't we go a bit back and you tell me everything about this, but from the beginning?"_

_Regina's face scrunched up, her head moving from side to side. For a moment, Robin was sure he would have to press a bit more to make her spit it all out, but then, she started to talk. Fast and straight to the point._

_When she was done explaining, he was the one almost a hundred percent sure she was pregnant, and he couldn't help feeling his own emotions soar._

_Yes, in a way the whole thing sounded surreal and he was surprised. But it was all in a good way, as this was the kind of thing you didn't know you wanted until it was right underneath your nose._

_He was completely and irremediably in love with this woman, so the idea of forming a family with her sounded like heaven on earth. He wasn't sure he had the words to manifest it that way though, so he just grabbed her chin to pull her closer._

" _I'm sorry. I really don't know how this happened."_

_Robin kissed her, his mouth against hers suppressing the chuckle that wanted to erupt out of him._

" _Darling, I don't know why you are talking about this like it is a bad thing or something to apologize for when it's not. If you are indeed having our baby… it would be amazing." He kissed her again, his lips landing at the corner of her mouth, over the tip of her nose, against her closed eyelids..._

" _No. This is not amazing. Do you know what Zelena would do if she even suspects I'm expecting? She already said she plans to take Snow's baby, so the chance of me being pregnant is definitely not good. Robin… I already lost Henry and I almost couldn't bear it-"_

" _Hey," Taking notice of how her eyes began to water while her lips trembled, Robin reached for her. "You're not going to lose anything, most definitely not this baby, alright?"_

_Moving his lips over her forehead to smooth the worry lines there, Robin hugged her, the way she melted in his embrace making his heart feel like it would burst._

" _You don't know that," She sniffed, the way her eyelashes brushed against his chin making him hold her tighter._

" _Actually I do. The same way I know I'm not going to lose you, Roland or this baby."_

_Regina didn't respond, but she did snuggle closer against him._

_Robin held her like that until he thought she was a bit more composed, but then, he thought of something he had been postponing for a while now. Remembering made him move from his spot by her side, so right after kissing her, he let go of her for a moment. He climbed out of bed, grabbing what he was looking for and then making it back to her._

" _Here," He said, sitting on the mattress and making her sit with him. She did, blinking a couple of times as he showed her the small golden ring between his thumb and his forefinger. "This has been in my family ever since my great-grandfather gave it to this woman he was completely in love with. He didn't have enough to buy her a real engagement ring, so he forged this one out of a golden goblet my mum swore he got from his own family, but that I'm pretty sure he stole."_

_Despite herself, Regina snorted, her eyes intently fixed on his._

" _Anyhow, he gave it to his darling, as a promise that he was going to marry her one day. They did. Then, his son gave it to his own love, not as a promise to get married, but as a commitment that he was going to come back and find her after the war was over, and that they would live a happy life after that. My father gave it to my mum when she found out she was pregnant, and he promised he would take care of her until his last breath. The ring was lost after that… so it kind of faded away in the Locksley's memories."_

" _It's a nice ring." She said, frowning a little._

" _It's a little rough around the edges, like someone I know."_

_Rolling her eyes, Regina bit hard into her lip._

" _I found it some time ago, when the curse hit… and well, I've been keeping it with me ever since on this chain. At least until I got this idea in my mind and I made Tuck help me put this inscription on it. Can you see it?"_

_Without saying a word, Regina got a little closer, her eyes lowering to the ring. When she apparently saw what he was showing her, she immediately looked back up at him, her eyes dancing over his face as if she wanted to confirm if the simple R &R now engraved in the precious metal meant what she was thinking._

" _That's for Robin and Regina. I know it's not much, not compared to all the fancy jewels a queen has so you know, you don't even have to wear it… or carry it. But I still would like for you to have it, as my promise that I will do all of what my ancestors promised they would do. That I will obviously get you a better ring and marry you, that I will make you happy, and that I will take care of you and our child until my last breath. If I have to go toe to toe with this witch to make good on all those promises, I will."_

_Blowing out a breath, Regina touched the ring. "Robin…"_

" _You don't have to say anything. We can put it in one of those fancy boxes with the ridiculous amount of rings and earrings you have and just… leave it there. It doesn't have to mean anything… I really just want you to have it."_

" _Don't be ridiculous, of course I'll wear it." She chuckled, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him._

_Releasing the breath he wasn't even aware he had been holding, Robin pressed her even closer to him, his arms circling her waist and his mouth reciprocating her kiss. "So this means I have to start looking for that other ring? Because chances are I may have to steal it..."_

" _God, you're impossible. You're lucky I love you so much."_

" _I love you too."_

_Biting his tongue and loving her raspy laugh in his ear, Robin closed his eyes and breathed into the moment. Yes, he loved her with everything that he was, and that was why he meant to do good on all those promises, whatever it took…_

**XxXxXxX**

Robin was mad. Not in the way she was used to dealing with anger though. It wasn't hot, alive, or hissing like the flames of an open fire. There were no explosive accusations or heated glances thrown in her direction, and definitely no demands. He was just there, and in a way, his lack of an abrasive response was all too disconcerting to her.

He was just sitting, his elbows resting on his knees as he rubbed his temples almost compulsively.

Watching him like that was making Regina feel on edge, because no, maybe he wasn't red-faced and yelling at her for what she did. But he was definitely irritated, and this eerie calm in him felt so much more brutal than the alternative.

He was radiating the kind of anger that could make the temperature drop a good ten degrees, the kind that made your bones chill, and she wasn't sure how to deal with it.

This was all new ground for her. Not only this kind of anger or even the disappointment she could feel coming from Robin, but also because she wasn't used to giving anyone any explanations about the things she did and why. Yet, she did it for this man, and now that everything was said and done, she couldn't do anything other than just stand there, watching him slowly absorb everything that she told him.

He was taking his time to digest it though, his mind probably trying to grasp it all. As he did, Regina just kept waiting for him to say something, anything, regarding the bomb she just dropped on him.

"Alright, so you have the Dark One. Why?" He asked at last, his voice raspy and far off. He never looked up at her.

Taking a deep breath, Regina closed her hands into hard fists. The way her nails dug into her palms kept her grounded. "I needed to know if what Zelena was saying was the truth, so I went to him. I needed to find some answers."

Pushing the inside of his cheek with his tongue, Robin nodded, his eyes blinking several times as his mind probably kept swirling around that one.

"I get that. But you got your answers already, so why keep him here?" This time, he did look at her, his eyes intently digging into hers while he pointed to the spot where Rumple was distractedly humming to some unknown tune.

It was a cold stare, and Regina didn't like being on the receiving end of it. She deserved it, yes… but that didn't mean she had to like it.

It was ridiculous to feel that way, at least given the fact that she had bigger problems than dealing with a man being mad at her. Still, she couldn't help but feel beaten down by the thought that by then, he was probably wondering how he, the legendary Robin Hood, so good and righteous, ended up hooking up with the Evil Queen in two different parallel universes. In one of them even getting her pregnant.

"You know you can just go. You don't have to stick around and be dragged into this mess."

Robin scoffed, his jaw tensing. His eyes never dropped away from hers, carrying all the coldness in the world. "Regina… you just showed me where the Imp is. I'm here, in front of the cage where you are keeping him in, so I think I'm already in this mess."

"Yes you are, in this mess, and you won't be spared," Rumplestiltskin sang, giggling as he waved his hands in the air. "The witch will get you all, you and you and the tiny little bean. She will grow it and keep it… all the weeny ones."

Probably fed up with Rumple's random commentary every time they would talk, Robin got to his feet and walked out of the sealed chamber.

For a moment, Regina was sure he was going to do as she said and leave, and she couldn't lie, there was a certain sense of relief in that thought.

She didn't want Robin involved. That was why she tried to push him away. Unfortunately, the man was stubborn as hell, and not only did he see through her lies, but he also took her by surprise and ended up tearing down all the walls she had worked so hard to build around herself. One kiss and she was doomed… she fell victim to her repressed feelings and now it was this.

Running a hand through her hair, Regina walked after him. He didn't leave, but was instead standing in the middle of her vault, his chin lifted up and his eyes set on the ceiling.

"You wanted me to believe you got rid of the baby," He stated. Once again, the coldness radiating out of him sent a chill down her spine.

There was a part of her that wanted to tell him that yes, she tried to make him believe that, and so what? It was for his own sake, so he shouldn't make a fuss out of it. If anything, he should be thankful she was considerate enough to try and keep him out of her messed up family drama.

But the part of her that wanted to say that, had such a little voice that Regina didn't even pay attention to it. Instead, she swallowed dryly and tried to explain her motives.

"I didn't want you involved in this. She knows there's something between us, and she implied that she was going to take you from me. Rumple also said it, that she was going to take everything I cared for and turn it to ashes. Robin… I can't let her do that. Not to you, Henry… or even Roland."

At the sound of her voice, almost cracking, his face softened the slightest bit and he walked to her. He wrapped his arms around her, his lips pressing to her cheek as she let herself melt in the embrace.

"I thought that with no baby, you would want to stay away from me, and that if she picked up on that, she would just let you be."

"You really think I just want to be near you because of the baby?"

Regina closed her eyes, taking comfort in his scent and the warmth of his arms around her. "I don't know."

Sure, she could say he probably wanted to linger because the sex was good, but that would be a low blow as she knew better than that. Whatever his reasons were to want to stick around, were the same she had for wanting him close.

"Well, I am not here just for the baby, so get that in that stubborn head of yours already. You need to understand that I'm in this with you, for better or for worse, and that I'll do whatever it takes to help you bring down this witch if that's what I need to do to keep you, the baby or our sons from being in any kind of danger. But you can't lie to me, Regina, or push me away… or even keep things like you kidnapping the Dark One away from me."

"I didn't know what else to do." She had been desperate, and Rumple had been the key for her to understand what was really going on. Through him, she found out who Zelena was, where she came from, and what she wanted.

"It's alright, we'll figure this whole thing out. We just… need to think things through."

"You should take it, the dagger."

Moving his hand to her hair, Robin groaned. "And why the bloody hell would I want that wretched thing?"

"Because I don't trust myself with it. I'll use it if I need to, and I would do it without any regrets if it means taking Zelena down. But that takes a toll, and maybe you don't see it this way, but I'm the _Evil Queen_ ; and everybody knows the likes of me should never try to hold so much power."

What if she reverted to her old ways? What if she corrupted her unborn child with the darkness that would erupt out of her just by using the dagger?

"And you think I would be any better with that thing?"

"You'll definitely do better than me."

"Well, how about neither one of us uses it for now? I know you'll hate me for this, but I think we should go to Snow and the others and try to come up with a plan. This is not a battle you have to fight alone."

Sucking a breath into her lungs, Regina pressed her forehead to his shoulders, thinking that he was right. That's how they ended up going to the Charming's apartment.

They agreed though, that he was going to be the one breaking the news about how she was the one who had The Dark One. It was better that way, as Regina would end up tangled in a never-ending argument with Emma if she went there and confessed.

Robin had more tact, and he could smooth things out before she would have to go and face everybody.

So yes, she let him do that. In the meantime, she decided to wait outside, sitting on a bench near Main Street, watching time pass by as her thoughts betrayed her.

Yes, she was thinking about Zelena and all her senses were on the lookout in case she decided to show up, but she was also thinking about Robin. About the ease with which he was dragging her down a path she was still too afraid to travel.

He was exposing her, peeling her layer by layer so he could look at everything that she was. Meanwhile, she was just letting him.

That was something that she didn't do, and no, she shouldn't be encouraging him, as it was one thing to have sex with him and satisfy a need that was merely a physiological impulse, and a very different one to let herself feel things she had no right to be feeling.

She shouldn't be wanting him near or craving his kisses or his arms around her, and she definitely shouldn't feel her stomach get tied in a knot whenever the blue of his eyes focused on her own eyes a little too intently.

She was thinking about all of that and what it meant, when she heard the voice.

"Hey, can I sit here for a second?"

Startled, the former Mayor of the town tensed her jaw, her eyes set on the woman already sitting by her side.

"Why ask if you are going to do it no matter what I say?" Regina hissed through clenched teeth as Snow sighed heavily, pressing a hand against her pregnant stomach.

"Oof, I know… I just tire so easily now that I'm closer and closer to having this kid. I just need a breather… so bear with me, will you?"

Regina shrugged as indifferently as she could. If she had any luck, Snow White would just sit for a second and then keep going. But knowing her as well as she did, she doubted anything like that was going to happen. She was there to stay, she could feel it.

"So, I heard you were nowhere to be found last night, are you okay?"

The corner of Regina's lip twitched as she tried to hold back a grimace. Yes, she could easily mention how she had been busy kidnapping the Dark One and then locking herself in her vault, brooding in her own sour mood. But she didn't want to go into so much detail, so she decided to keep it simple.

"I was not 'nowhere' to be found. I was interrogating Rumple… as you probably heard by now."

"Oh, yes, I did. There is some kind of heated argument back in the apartment because of it. Emma is fuming. That's why I got out of there, I can't deal with so much animosity when I'm so hormonal. But that's why I ask. Robin said the things you got out of that interrogation and they are… wow. Zelena is your sister… I definitely didn't see that one coming. Want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Okay... well, at least I know you are okay; I mean, are you?"

Rolling her eyes, Regina puffed out a breath. "I'm great."

"How about the... you know, the baby thing? Are you feeling better about it now?"

"It's all fine," She said a bit exasperated while throwing her arms to her sides. She didn't want to talk about her pregnancy while in the open, as anyone could be listening to what was supposed to be a secret. "Can we just not talk about any of this?"

"Okay. We can just sit here and say nothing, or we can… I don't know, talk about you and Robin."

"Oh my God. You just don't give up, do you?"

Instead of being thrown off by her snarky comment, Mary Margaret just beamed. "You know I don't. So, you two seem to have grown closer. That's good."

For a couple of minutes that seemed to drag into an eternity, Regina tried to ignore the woman sitting by her side. But the more time that passed, the heavier the silence felt.

For reasons she couldn't quite comprehend, she ended up itching to break it to ask Snow something. It was silly, and she would probably regret it a thousand times afterward. But with the way her mind had been rolling, the question was there now, on the tip of her tongue and wanting to be let out.

It was either blurt that out, or fall down a rabbit hole and talk about how even in death, Cora kept screwing her over and over.

"Do you remember-" She started to ask, even when she knew she shouldn't be talking about this at all.

What she should do was keep her mouth shut and wait for Snow to get bored and move along. She should focus on a strategy to defeat Zelena instead of asking nonsense, because that was the most important thing at that moment, right? Taking the Wicked Witch down.

But instead of doing what reason told her to do, she asked a question that would be better off buried in the back of her head. "Do you remember when you said that when love knocked on your door, it was hard to ignore it?"

Snow shifted her position and turned to her. "Yes. I do remember."

"I think that's tragic, because sometimes, you just don't want to feel it." Her eyes turned to the other woman and she swallowed hard, her hands clutching one another.

Snow was looking at her through heavy-lidded eyes. She looked laidback and relaxed, but Regina knew she was scrutinizing her like she never had before. It was unnerving, as it made her feel way too exposed.

"I think we should never ignore love. Life is too short to do that, Regina, you should know that better than anyone else. So embrace it if you feel it, soak it in… as there is no other way."

Shaking her head and moving her eyes away from the younger woman, Regina shrugged. "I don't think I can… I don't even know if I am capable of ever loving again. Not the same way I already loved."

Not like she even remembered how that was, as it had been such a long time ago. She remembered the pain it left in its wake, the anger and the impotence. But even that had faded with time.

"I have to differ. I think you are very capable of loving, not only like you once did, but stronger than that. I am not an expert, as you know I've been in love with the same man all my life, but I think that loving is an experience that varies from individual to individual. You shouldn't be expecting nor aiming to love in the same way you loved once, as you can't make a replica of it, but you can create a new love, a new experience."

Drinking in the words, Regina nodded.

"So yes, I do think you are very capable of loving again. I also think that you won't let yourself do it because you are afraid of it. The question is: what are you so afraid of?"

Snorting bitterly, Regina looked up again and blinked rapidly. Why was she about to tell her all this? Could it be that what she had needed after all was someone to talk to, someone to understand her?

"I don't know. Maybe I'm afraid of loving someone and then losing him… or of loving and having that person not love me back because let's face it, I'm damaged goods. I have so much baggage that I just…" And damn it why were her eyes watering and her voice cracking?

"I lived that fear with Henry every day. It never went away and look at what happened. He doesn't know who I am and it's... tearing me inside out. I can't even imagine living through this again with someone else."

"Well you see, I think your problem resides in the fact that instead of focusing on the feelings that you do have, you channel everything into this fear. You need to stop doing that. You just need to."

Quirking her lips, Regina considered what she said. "I don't want to be afraid of loving; but the thing about this fear is that once it knows your face, it never really abandons you. It just lays dormant and while it might have fooled you into thinking that you had conquered it and grown stronger from it, it was just waiting for an excuse to show its face once more to take control of every cell of your body."

She let the words sit there for a second, and then without looking at the woman sitting beside her, she continued.

"It is only then that you realize that fear has crawled under your skin and settled deep inside of you. That it has feasted on everything you are until there is nothing left but fear itself."

As she wiped the tear that just escaped her eye, Snow White grabbed Regina's other hand. She held it for a few seconds, squeezing hard as a way to make the former Queen look at her.

"I don't know what to tell you about this fear or how to get rid of it. But up there in my home, there's a man who's sticking up for you with everything that he has. He's arguing with my daughter and defending why you, the so-called Evil Queen, kidnapped the Dark One and decided to hide him and his dagger in some undisclosed location. If that doesn't speak volumes about his love for you, I don't know what else would. So I say grab the bull by the horns and don't ever let this man go away. It's obvious that he's head over heels for you… and you look pretty smitten yourself."

Rolling her eyes, Regina scoffed. She was about to fire back at the comment Snow just threw, but before she could open her mouth, she saw her, Zelena, walking towards them with a look on her face that spoke of trouble.

Feeling her senses tingling, she got to her feet immediately, her jaw clenching and her hands ready to produce a fireball.

"Aww, look what I found here. I came looking for Snow White and I found my little sister chumming it up with her. Isn't that cute?"

Unable to keep her face from showing her displeasure from seeing her there, Regina lifted her chin. "Cut the crap, Zelena. What do you want?"

Shrugging and sending a fake smile her way, the red-headed woman looked at her. "Why, I just came to take her baby. But first, tell me what you found out about our little chit-chat. Are you convinced I am your sister now?"

Using her eyes, Regina tried to motion for Snow to leave while she entertained her sister, but the woman was too dense to pick up on it and she just stood there, mumbling something about calling Emma.

"I am convinced you are my mother's daughter, yes. But I'm also convinced that you are a nobody. Not good enough for Cora to keep, or even interesting enough to grab Rumple's attention for too long. How about that?"

Groaning, the witch flicked her wrist, the movement making Regina get thrown flat on her back. The impact took the air out of her lungs, her head hitting a little too hard against the pavement.

"Let's not talk about nobodies when you can't even stand against me on my worst day." With that said, Zelena turned to Snow, and before the other woman could even take a step away, she was hitting her with some kind of spell. It made the younger woman freeze, her mouth hanging open and her eyes huge. "Let's cook this baby a little more so I can take it, shall we?"

Snow White gasped, a little sound that barely escaped her, but one that Regina recognized as a manifestation of her pain. It made her act at once, so getting to her feet, she tried to interfere. She threw one, then two fireballs at Zelena, and even though the other woman was able to evade them without much effort, the former Queen managed to at least make her sister lose her focus.

"Really, you think you can stop me with that? And here I was thinking you were Rumple's best student. Well, after me of course."

Not losing her ground, Regina tried to hit her again. She almost did, and as a consequence, Zelena's aim shifted a little and the spell she had on Snow hit her.

It was a quick thing, but the pain she felt made her entire being feel like it was going to break in two. It started in her stomach and then it traveled like electricity all over her body, making her knees feel like giving up under her weight and her back like it was about to snap.

The pain was strong enough to make her go down on her knees, her eyes watering and her hands automatically settling on her stomach.

'No, no, no.' She chanted in her mind, her thoughts on her baby and the effects this could have in the long run. What if she lost it? What if the excruciating pain was her body rejecting the new life?

Choking on a sob, Regina snarled. She could hear in the distance how Zelena was talking to her, mocking her and calling her weak. The sound was muffled though, and the only thing she could focus on was the way her stomach was growing. Slow but steady, and painfully enough to make her breathing get stuck in her throat.

It took her a couple of seconds to understand what was happening. Her baby was growing… Zelena hit her with a spell that was making her baby's growth speed up…

Panicking, she looked around. Zelena was with Snow, talking about how she was going to deliver her baby and then take it. And while Snow laid on the street, writhing in pain and crying, the world seemed to stand still.

She wasn't aware of the people now surrounding them and how Zelena was effortlessly keeping them away. She didn't see Emma trying to break through her sister's defenses to save her mother, or Robin and David stubbornly trying to get past the bubble the Wicked Witch created, let alone a confused Henry standing with his eyes huge as saucers as the scene unfolded in front of him.

All she could think about was her baby and how Zelena was going to take it away if she knew, if she only turned around to see that there was more than Snow's baby up for grabs.

As if sensing her thoughts, Zelena turned to her and saw _it_. The surprise of what she had in front of her made her smile grow, and in her awe, she even let go of Snow. "Wait, you're telling me that I'm going to get two babies for the price of one? Really? Well isn't this my lucky day?"

Through the blinding pain, Regina got to her feet, deciding that no matter how she could prevent it, that nobody was going to take anything from her.

"No, it isn't."

That's how it happened. One moment she was feeling a pain like she had never felt before, and the next, her fingers were prickling. Before Zelena could produce the spell again and hit her with it, a huge force erupted out of Regina's hands. It was an automatic response, almost as if this was not the first time she experienced such a thing. Her hands lifted, wrapped in a white light, and then she was aiming at her.

She hit the other woman directly on her chest, making her fly backwards. She landed on her back, astounded and her eyes a little lost.

"How?" That was all Zelena was able to yell at first. But then, as Regina fell back to her knees, doubling over with the pain of her stomach growing even more, the redhead's lips turned into a wicked grin. "Oh, we're not done yet, sis… not even by a long shot. If I were you, I would kiss that baby goodbye, because I'm going to take it. I'm going to take everything!"

With that said, she disappeared in a cloud of green smoke.

Snarling her lips, Regina watched her sister vanish, her blood boiling along with the pain. But then, before she could be dragged away by her anger, there was a pair of hands grabbing her and her attention shifted. They were in her hair, in her face, over her stomach, checking her. It took her more than a few seconds to realize it was Robin.

"You alright? Hey, look at me."

Blowing out a breath and closing her eyes, Regina let herself fall in a heap against him. She was in a daze, partly because of the pain, and partly because she couldn't grasp what had just happened there.

"No, I'm not alright. The baby…"

"I know, I know," He hissed, his voice giving a hint of desperation as he alternated between touching her stomach and rubbing her back. "Just... tell me what to do."

Clenching her fist on his jacket, Regina groaned, her pain so strong that she couldn't see or hear anything for a while. When she was back to herself, she opened her eyes and looked him in the eye.

"I need to go to the hospital. Robin, I think… I think I'm going to have this baby now…"

TBC


End file.
